Correction factors for cross-correlation processing of FBG sensor network data

This paper outlines a demodulation technique developed for low-bandwidth, high sensor density fiber Bragg grating (FBG) applications. Currently there are no such demodulation techniques that can be easily scaled to large networks of sensors. The technique takes advantage of known differences in FBG spectral profiles to uniquely identify each multiplexed grating. Known grating profiles are individually cross-correlated with the measured spectrum to locate each Bragg peak. Cross-correlation was used because of its rapid processing speed. This paper covers preliminary experimental validations to identify accuracy limits, as well as investigations into a correction factor for improved accuracy

How does cognition evolve? Phylogenetic comparative psychology

Now more than ever animal studies have the potential to test hypotheses regarding how cognition evolves. Comparative psychologists have developed new techniques to probe the cognitive mechanisms underlying animal behavior, and they have become increasingly skillful at adapting methodologies to test multiple species. Meanwhile, evolutionary biologists have generated quantitative approaches to investigate the phylogenetic distribution and function of phenotypic traits, including cognition. In particular, phylogenetic methods can quantitatively (1) test whether specific cognitive abilities are correlated with life history (e.g., lifespan), morphology (e.g., brain size), or socio-ecological variables (e.g., social system), (2) measure how strongly phylogenetic relatedness predicts the distribution of cognitive skills across species, and (3) estimate the ancestral state of a given cognitive trait using measures of cognitive performance from extant species. Phylogenetic methods can also be used to guide the selection of species comparisons that offer the strongest tests of a priori predictions of cognitive evolutionary hypotheses (i.e., phylogenetic targeting). Here, we explain how an integration of comparative psychology and evolutionary biology will answer a host of questions regarding the phylogenetic distribution and history of cognitive traits, as well as the evolutionary processes that drove their evolution