Endogenous orienting modulates the Simon effect: critical factors in experimental design

Responses are faster when the side of stimulus and response correspond than when they do not correspond, even if stimulus location is irrelevant to the task at hand: the correspondence, spatial compatibility effect, or Simon effect. Generally, it is assumed that an automatically generated spatial code is responsible for this effect, but the precise mechanism underlying the formation of this code is still under dispute. Two major alternatives have been proposed: the referential-coding account, which can be subdivided into a static version and an attention-centered version, and the attention-shift account. These accounts hold clear-cut predictions for attentional cuing experiments. The former would assume a Simon effect irrespective of attentional cuing in its static version, whereas the attention-centered version of the referential-coding account and the attention-shift account would predict a decreased Simon effect on validly as opposed to invalidly cued trials. However, results from previous studies are equivocal to the effects of attentional cuing on the Simon effect. We argue here that attentional cueing reliably modulates the Simon effect if some crucial experimental conditions, mostly relevant for optimizing attentional allocation, are met. Furthermore, we propose that the Simon effect may be better understood within the perspective of supra-modal spatial attention, thereby providing an explanation for observed discrepancies in the literature

The development of a computer driver jigsaw

With a jigsaw, sharp inside corners can only be sawn out if the blade of the jigsaw is lifted out of the material and the corner is approached from two different sides. For the blade to be able to re-enter the material no material must be present at the entry point. The most important feature of an automated jigsaw is that it should be able to round off inside corners on a contour and automatically return to these corners to remove material left between the round off and the contour. With this development project an automated jigsaw machine was designed, built and tested. Emphasis fell on the development of software that enables one to draw contours that need to be sawn out, change these contours into cutter paths for the jigsaw and transform the cutter paths into digital format necessary to control the jigsaw machine via the parallel port of a personal computer.‘n Figuursaag kan slegs skerp binnehoeke saag as die lem uit die materiaal uitgelig word en die hoek van twee kante af gesaag word. Waar die lem weer in die materiaal ingaan, mag geen materiaal aanwesig wees nie. Die belangrikste eienskap van ‘n ge-outomatiseerde figuursaag is dat kontoere so gesaag moet word dat binnehoeke afgerond kan word en die materiaal tussen die afronding en die gewensde kontoer outomaties verwyder moet word. Met hierdie ontwikkelingsprojek, is ‘n ge-outomatiseerde figuursaag ontwerp, gebou en getoets. Die klem van die projek val op die ontwikkeling van sagteware waarmee kontoere wat uitgesaag moet word, geteken kan word, omgeskakel kan word in ‘n snyerpad vir die saaglem en gebruik kan word vir digitale beheer van die saagmasjien deur gebruik te maak van die parallelpoort van ‘n persoonlike rekenaar.http://sajie.journals.ac.z

Redundant sensory information does not enhance sequence learning in the serial reaction time task

In daily life we encounter multiple sources of sensory information at any given moment. Unknown is whether such sensory redundancy in some way affects implicit learning of a sequence of events. In the current paper we explored this issue in a serial reaction time task. Our results indicate that redundant sensory information does not enhance sequence learning when all sensory information is presented at the same location (responding to the position and/or color of the stimuli; Experiment 1), even when the distinct sensory sources provide more or less similar baseline response latencies (responding to the shape and/or color of the stimuli; Experiment 2). These findings support the claim that sequence learning does not (necessarily) benefit from sensory redundancy. Moreover, transfer was observed between various sets of stimuli, indicating that learning was predominantly response-based

Statistical mechanics of image restoration and error-correcting codes

We develop a statistical-mechanical formulation for image restoration and error-correcting codes. These problems are shown to be equivalent to the Ising spin glass with ferromagnetic bias under random external fields. We prove that the quality of restoration/decoding is maximized at a specific set of parameter values determined by the source and channel properties. For image restoration in mean-field system a line of optimal performance is shown to exist in the parameter space. These results are illustrated by solving exactly the infinite-range model. The solutions enable us to determine how precisely one should estimate unknown parameters. Monte Carlo simulations are carried out to see how far the conclusions from the infinite-range model are applicable to the more realistic two-dimensional case in image restoration.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, ReVTe

Synchronous changes in sediment transport and provenance at the Iceland‐Faroe Ridge linked to millennial climate variability from 55 to 6 ka BP

Unique marine sediment cores retrieved from the southwestern slope of the Iceland‐Faroe Ridge (IFR), close to the main axis of the Iceland‐Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) revealed prominent sedimentary cycles reflecting near‐bottom current dynamics, sediment transport and deposition, coincident with Dansgaard‐Oeschger cycles and deglacial perturbations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The transition between Greenland Stadials (GSs) and Greenland Interstadials (GIs) follows a distinct, recurring sedimentation pattern. Basaltic (Ti‐rich) silts were transported from local volcanic sources by strong bottom currents and deposited during GIs comparable to modern ocean circulation. Finer‐grained felsic (K‐rich) sediments were deposited during GSs, when ISOW was weak. Possible felsic source areas include British‐Ireland and/or Fennoscandian shelf areas. A cyclic saw‐tooth pattern of bottom current strength is characterized by gradual intensification during GIs followed by a sharp decline towards GSs as is documented at core sites along the flank of Reykjanes Ridge. The cores north of Faroe Channel instead document the opposite pattern. This suggests that the near‐bottom currents along the Reykjanes Ridge are strongly controlled by the flow cascading over the IFR. Heinrich (like) Stadials (HSs) especially HS‐1 and HS‐2 are characterized by the deposition of very fine felsic sediments pointing to weakened bottom currents. Distinct coarse‐grained intervals of ice rafted debris (IRD) are absent from the sediment records, although pebble and gravel sized IRD is irregularly distributed throughout the fine sediment matrix. Near bottom currents are considered to have a major control on the lithogenic sediment deposition southwest of the Iceland‐Faroe Ridge and further down‐stream

METHODOLOGY Open Access

The development and validation of an LC-MS/MS method for the determination of a new anti-malarial compound (TK900D) in human whole blood and its application to pharmacokinetic studies in mic

On Multifractal Structure in Non-Representational Art

Multifractal analysis techniques are applied to patterns in several abstract expressionist artworks, paintined by various artists. The analysis is carried out on two distinct types of structures: the physical patterns formed by a specific color (``blobs''), as well as patterns formed by the luminance gradient between adjacent colors (``edges''). It is found that the analysis method applied to ``blobs'' cannot distinguish between artists of the same movement, yielding a multifractal spectrum of dimensions between about 1.5-1.8. The method can distinguish between different types of images, however, as demonstrated by studying a radically different type of art. The data suggests that the ``edge'' method can distinguish between artists in the same movement, and is proposed to represent a toy model of visual discrimination. A ``fractal reconstruction'' analysis technique is also applied to the images, in order to determine whether or not a specific signature can be extracted which might serve as a type of fingerprint for the movement. However, these results are vague and no direct conclusions may be drawn.Comment: 53 pp LaTeX, 10 figures (ps/eps

Succession and determinants of the early life nasopharyngeal microbiota in a South African birth cohort

Background: Bacteria colonizing the nasopharynx play a key role as gatekeepers of respiratory health. Yet, dynamics of early life nasopharyngeal (NP) bacterial profiles remain understudied in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where children have a high prevalence of risk factors for lower respiratory tract infection. We investigated longitudinal changes in NP bacterial profiles, and associated exposures, among healthy infants from low-income households in South Africa. Methods: We used short fragment (V4 region) 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize NP bacterial profiles from 103 infants in a South African birth cohort, at monthly intervals from birth through the first 12 months of life and six monthly thereafter until 30 months. Results: Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus were dominant colonizers at 1 month of life; however, these were rapidly replaced by Moraxella- or Haemophilus-dominated profiles by 4 months. This succession was almost universal and largely independent of a broad range of exposures. Warm weather (summer), lower gestational age, maternal smoking, no day-care attendance, antibiotic exposure, or low height-for-age z score at 12 months were associated with higher alpha and beta diversity. Summer was also associated with higher relative abundances of Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Neisseria, or anaerobic gram-negative bacteria, whilst spring and winter were associated with higher relative abundances of Haemophilus or Corynebacterium, respectively. Maternal smoking was associated with higher relative abundances of Porphyromonas. Antibiotic therapy (or isoniazid prophylaxis for tuberculosis) was associated with higher relative abundance of anerobic taxa (Porphyromonas, Fusobacterium, and Prevotella) and with lower relative abundances of health associated-taxa Corynebacterium and Dolosigranulum. HIV-exposure was associated with higher relative abundances of Klebsiella or Veillonella and lower relative abundances of an unclassified genus within the family Lachnospiraceae. Conclusions: In this intensively sampled cohort, there was rapid and predictable replacement of early profiles dominated by health-associated Corynebacterium and Dolosigranulum with those dominated by Moraxella and Haemophilus, independent of exposures. Season and antibiotic exposure were key determinants of NP bacterial profiles. Understudied but highly prevalent exposures prevalent in LMICs, including maternal smoking and HIV-exposure, were associated with NP bacterial profiles