The role of first- and second-order stimulus features for human overt attention

When processing complex visual input, human observers sequentially allocate their attention to different subsets of the stimulus. What are the mechanisms and strategies that guide this selection process? We investigated the influence of various stimulus features on human overt attention—that is, attention related to shifts of gaze with natural color images and modified versions thereof. Our experimental modifications, systematic changes of hue across the entire image, influenced only the global appearance of the stimuli, leaving the local features under investigation unaffected. We demonstrated that these modifications consistently reduce the subjective interpretation of a stimulus as "natural” across observers. By analyzing fixations, we found that first-order features, such as luminance contrast, saturation, and color contrast along either of the cardinal axes, correlated to overt attention in the modified images. In contrast, no such correlation was found in unmodified outdoor images. Second-order luminance contrast ("texture contrast”) correlated to overt attention in all conditions. However, although none of the second-order color contrasts were correlated to overt attention in unmodified images, one of the second-order color contrasts did exhibit a significant correlation in the modified images. These findings imply, on the one hand, that higher-order bottom-up effects—namely, those of second-order luminance contrast—may partially account for human overt attention. On the other hand, these results also demonstrate that global image properties, which correlate to the subjective impression of a scene being "natural,” affect the guidance of human overt attentio

On the development of a harmonic balance method for aeroelastic analysis

To efficiently simulate time-periodic, non-linear flows in turbomachinery a Harmonic Balance (HB) method has recently been developed within the framework of DLR’s compressible, Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier- tokes (URANS) solver TRACE. As a hybrid time- and frequency-domain method, that solves directly for the complex valued solution harmonics of the URANS equations, the approach allows both the integration of highly accurate non-reflecting boundary conditions and the efficient resolution of non-linear flow phenomena. In the current work the HB-solver is extended and applied to investigate the aeroelastic problem of flutter in turbomachinery. Within this context the HB-method is developed, under consideration of the Geometric Conservation Law (GCL), to support deforming meshes. To validate the approach the well documented aeroelastic test case Standard Configuration 10 is simulated and results are compared to those obtained with an inhouse time-linearized solver and reference datafrom the literature

Non-reflecting boundary condtions on unstructured grids

Non-reflecting boundary condition at interfaces for flow simulations in turbomachinery using the method laid out by Giles [1] and Saxer [2] require averages or Fourier decomposition of the flow solution using stations of constant radius at the interface. On structured grids the grid generation process can easily enforce grids having element centers with this property while on unstructured grids this is rarely achievable. We describe an approach which works on an auxiliary mesh with a band structure created from the surface mesh at interfaces and study the influence of the prescribed distribution of the bands on the solution. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated by applying it to the simulation of a compressor stage and comparing the results with results obtained by using the existing approach for creating bands and a simulation on a structured grid

Non-reflecting boundary conditions on unstructured grids

Non-reflecting boundary condition at interfaces for flow simulations in turbomachinery using the method laid out by Giles [1] and Saxer [2] require averages or Fourier decomposition of the flow solution using stations of constant radius at the interface. On structured grids the grid generation process can easily enforce grids having element centers with this property while on unstructured grids this is rarely achievable. We describe an approach which works on an auxiliary mesh with a band structure created from the surface mesh at interfaces and study the influence of the prescribed distribution of the bands on the solution. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated by applying it to the simulation of a compressor stage and comparing the results with results obtained by using the existing approach for creating bands and a simulation on a structured grid

A Log-w Turbulence Model Formulation for Flutter Analysis with Harmonic Balance

When considering flutter problems, unsteady effects in turbulence quantities are often not taken into account when using time-linearized methods. However, several studies have demonstrated that it can be necessary to resolve those effects in certain cases. The harmonic balance method is inherently able to capture the time dependent behaviour of the turbulence model. However, the method can suffer from instabilities due to problems in the turbulence model. As a possible solution, a logarithmic formulation of the w equation of the Wilcox k-w model is applied to the Harmonic Balance method in this paper. The combination is validated using a flutter computation of the NACA 3506 airfoil. One of the operating points exhibits significant oscillations in a shock induced separation. Resolving the unsteady behaviour of the boundary layer proved to be crucial to obtain a converged solution with the harmonic balance method. Both model variants were able to achieve satisfactory results. However, the log(w) model variant was able to provide advantages in accuracy and convergence

Analysis of Radicals in Combustion Processes

This work reports on a variety of radical analysis applications in combustion that are performed in the laboratories of the Paul Scherrer Institute. Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence and Resonant Holographic Interferometry is applied to the two-dimensional imaging of radicals in flames. The potential of Four-Wave Mixing Spectroscopy for non-perturbing combustion diagnostics is investigated and the method is applied to radicals in flames. Phase-Conjugation and the use of two different input frequencies are utilized to address typical problems in a combustion environment, i.e., lensing effects due to temperature and density gradients and congested spectra of the analyte due to significant thermal population of the ground state.More fundamentally, experiments are aimed to obtain detailed knowledge on the spectroscopy of many important radicals that are not yet characterized sufficiently for diagnostic purposes. A molecular beam apparatus has been set up where the collisionless and cold environment provides well defined experimental conditions to produce and investigate the relevant radicals. Finally, temporally and spectrally resolved fluorescence decays in the picosecond time domain are measured in an atmospheric pressure flame. These experiments yield results on vibrational and rotational energy transfer that are required for quantitative laser-induced fluorescence measurements

Comparison of continuous and intermittent renal replacement therapy for acute renal failure

Background. Mortality rates of critically ill patients with acute renal failure (ARF) requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) are high. Intermittent and continuous RRT are available for these patients on the intensive care units (ICUs). It is unknown which technique is superior with respect to patient outcome. Methods. We randomized 125 patients to treatment with either continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) or intermittent haemodialysis (IHD) from a total of 191 patients with ARF in a tertiary-care university hospital ICU. The primary end-point was ICU and in-hospital mortality, while recovery of renal function and hospital length of stay were secondary end-points. Results. During 30 months, no patient escaped randomization for medical reasons. Sixty-six patients were not randomized for non-medical reasons. Of the 125 randomized patients, 70 were treated with CVVHDF and 55 with IHD. The two groups were comparable at the start of RRT with respect to age (62±15 vs 62±15 years, CVVHDF vs IHD), gender (66 vs 73% male sex), number of failed organ systems (2.4±1.5 vs 2.5±1.6), Simplified Acute Physiology Scores (57±17 vs 58±23), septicaemia (43 vs 51%), shock (59 vs 58%) or previous surgery (53 vs 45%). Mortality rates in the hospital (47 vs 51%, CVVHDF vs IHD, P = 0.72) or in the ICU (34 vs 38%, P = 0.71) were independent of the technique of RRT applied. Hospital length of stay in the survivors was comparable in patients on CVVHDF [median (range) 20 (6-71) days, n = 36] and in those on IHD [30 (2-89) days, n = 27, P = 0.25]. The duration of RRT required was the same in both groups. Conclusion. The present investigation provides no evidence for a survival benefit of continuous vs intermittent RRT in ICU patients with AR

Sorting live stem cells based on Sox2 mRNA expression.

PMCID: PMC3507951This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.While cell sorting usually relies on cell-surface protein markers, molecular beacons (MBs) offer the potential to sort cells based on the presence of any expressed mRNA and in principle could be extremely useful to sort rare cell populations from primary isolates. We show here how stem cells can be purified from mixed cell populations by sorting based on MBs. Specifically, we designed molecular beacons targeting Sox2, a well-known stem cell marker for murine embryonic (mES) and neural stem cells (NSC). One of our designed molecular beacons displayed an increase in fluorescence compared to a nonspecific molecular beacon both in vitro and in vivo when tested in mES and NSCs. We sorted Sox2-MB(+)SSEA1(+) cells from a mixed population of 4-day retinoic acid-treated mES cells and effectively isolated live undifferentiated stem cells. Additionally, Sox2-MB(+) cells isolated from primary mouse brains were sorted and generated neurospheres with higher efficiency than Sox2-MB(-) cells. These results demonstrate the utility of MBs for stem cell sorting in an mRNA-specific manner