AER Neuro-Inspired interface to Anthropomorphic Robotic Hand

Address-Event-Representation (AER) is a communication protocol for transferring asynchronous events between VLSI chips, originally developed for neuro-inspired processing systems (for example, image processing). Such systems may consist of a complicated hierarchical structure with many chips that transmit data among them in real time, while performing some processing (for example, convolutions). The information transmitted is a sequence of spikes coded using high speed digital buses. These multi-layer and multi-chip AER systems perform actually not only image processing, but also audio processing, filtering, learning, locomotion, etc. This paper present an AER interface for controlling an anthropomorphic robotic hand with a neuro-inspired system.Unión Europea IST-2001-34124 (CAVIAR)Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC-2003-08164-C03-02Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC2000-0406-P4- 0

A Video Tour through ViSta 6.4

This paper offers a visual tour throughout ViSta 6.4, a freeware statistical program based on Lisp-Stat and focused on techniques for statistical visualization (Young 2004). This travel around ViSta is based on screen recordings that illustrate the main features of the program in action. The following aspects of ViSta 6.4 are displayed: the program's interface (ViSta's desktop, menubar and pop-up menus, help system); its data management capabilities (data input and editing, data transformations); features associated to data analysis (data description, statistical modeling); and the options for Lisp-Stat development in ViSta. The video recordings associated to this tour (.wmv files) can be visualized at http://www.jstatsoft.org/v13/i08/ using the Internet Explorer navigator, or by clicking on the figures in the paper.

Recent Advancements, Developments and Applications of Personal Network Analysis

We are pleased to introduce recent advancements in personal network analysis and applications in this special issue of the International Review of Social Research - IRSR. The idea of this special issue yielded in the summer of 2015, during the 8th edition of the Summer Course on personal networks given by the Universitat Autònoma deBarcelona(specifically, the egolab-GRAFO research team at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, UAB). That idea very soon turned into an invitation to international scholars to submit original papers focused on either a fully personal research design or on a design combining personal network analysis with other approaches (e.g. mixed research methods). In addition, we encouraged authors from all disciplines and fields to submit both theoretically and methodologically oriented papers, as long as they employ a personal network analysis approach. In the end, a bouquet of ten papers was kept for publication. Equally eclectic and complementary, these papers are related under the personal network analysis umbrella. In what follows, our foreword continues with two interrelated sections. First, we provide a glance on the field of personal network studies, which targets a wide general public less familiarized with structurally analytic approaches (for a detailed view on structural thinking underpinning social network analysis (SNA), see Borgatti et al. 2014; Wellman, 1988). And, second, we briefly introduce each of the ten papers comprising this special issue

Measuring transnational social fields through binational link-tracing sampling

We advance binational link-tracing sampling design, an innovative data collection methodology for sampling from transnational social fields, i.e., transnational networks embedding migrants and non-migrants. This paper shows the practical challenges of such a design, the representativeness of the samples and the qualities of the resulted networks. We performed 303 face-to-face structured interviews on sociodemographic variables, migration trajectories and personal networks of people living in a Romanian migration sending community (D\^ambovi\c{t}a) and in a migration receiving Spanish town (Castell\'on), simultaneously in both sites. Inter-connecting the personal networks, we built a multi-layered complex network structure embedding 4,855 nominated people, 5,477 directed ties (nominations) and 2,540 edges. Results indicate that the participants' unique identification is a particularly difficult challenge, the representativeness of the data is not optimal (homophily on observed attributes was detected in the nomination patterns), and the relational and attribute data allow to explore the social organization of the Romanian migrant enclave in Castell\'on, as well as its connectivity to other places. Furthermore, we provide methodological suggestions for improving link-tracing sampling from transnational networks of migration. Our research contributes to the emerging efforts of applying social network analysis to the study of international migration.Comment: 37 pages, 8 figure

Scattering in Multilayered Structures: Diffraction from a Nanohole

The spectral expansion of the Green's tensor for a planar multilayered structure allows us to semi analytically obtain the angular spectrum representation of the field scattered by an arbitrary dielectric perturbation present in the structure. In this paper we present a method to find the expansion coefficients of the scattered field, given that the electric field inside the perturbation is available. The method uses a complete set of orthogonal vector wave functions to solve the structure's vector wave equation. In the two semi-infinite bottom and top media, those vector wave functions coincide with the plane-wave basis vectors, including both propagating and evanescent components. The technique is used to obtain the complete angular spectrum of the field scattered by a nanohole in a metallic film under Gaussian illumination. We also show how the obtained formalism can easily be extended to spherically and cylindrically multilayered media. In those cases, the expansion coefficients would multiply the spherical and cylindrical vector wave functions.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Shape of the spatial mode function of photons generated in noncollinear spontaneous parametric downconversion

We show experimentally how noncollinear geometries in spontaneous parametric downconversion induce ellipticity of the shape of the spatial mode function. The degree of ellipticity depends on the pump beam width, especially for highly focused beams. We also discuss the ellipticity induced by the spectrum of the pump beam

Measurement and shaping of biphoton spectral wavefunctions

In this work we present a simple method to reconstruct the complex spectral wavefunction of a biphoton, and hence gain complete information about the spectral and temporal properties of a photon pair. The technique, which relies on quantum interference, is applicable to biphoton states produced with a monochromatic pump when a shift of the pump frequency produces a shift in the relative frequencies contributing to the biphoton. We demonstrate an example of such a situation in type-II parametric down-conversion (SPDC) allowing arbitrary paraxial spatial pump and detection modes. Moreover, our test cases demonstrate the possibility to shape the spectral wavefunction. This is achieved by choosing the spatial mode of the pump and of the detection modes, and takes advantage of spatiotemporal correlations.Comment: Supplementary information also available. Comments and feedback appreciated. Compared to the previous version, here we have made the following changes: -corrected a typo in the text between Eq. (11) and (12) -corrected a typo in the references -added reference

Short Take : Sampling from Transnational Social Fields

First published online June 3, 2022Thanks to the latest developments in network-oriented sampling, it is now possible to measure "transnational social fields," or emergent social structures that connect places or regions in different countries. These structures are instrumental in explaining sociocultural phenomena like the emergence of ethnic or demographic enclaves, social and economic remittances, and ethnic identifications. Nevertheless, they have only been mentioned metaphorically so far

Isotropically polarized speckle patterns

Under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 (CC-BY).The polarization of the light scattered by an optically dense and random solution of dielectric nanoparticles shows peculiar properties when the scatterers exhibit strong electric and magnetic polarizabilities. While the distribution of the scattering intensity in these systems shows the typical irregular speckle patterns, the helicity of the incident light can be fully conserved when the electric and magnetic polarizabilities of the scatterers are equal. We show that the multiple scattering of helical beams by a random dispersion of >dual> dipolar nanospheres leads to a speckle pattern exhibiting a perfect isotropic constant polarization, a situation that could be useful in coherent control of light as well as in lasing in random media.M. K. S. and J. A. acknowledge funding from Project No. FIS2013-41184-P of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Project No. ETORTEK IE14-393 NANOGUNE’14 of the Department of Industry of the Government of the Basque Country, Project No. IT756-13 of the Department of Education and Culture of the Basque Country, and Grant No. AP-2012-4204 from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport. J. J. S. acknowledges financial support by the Spanish MINECO (Grant No. FIS2012-36113) and by IKERBASQUE. G. M.-T. is supported by the Australian Research Council (Grant No. FT110100924).Peer Reviewe