High confidence and low accuracy in redundancy masking.

Visual scenes typically contain redundant information. One mechanism by which the visual system compresses such redundancies is 'redundancy masking' - the reduction of the perceived number of items in repeating patterns. For example, when presented with three lines in the periphery, observers frequently report only two lines. Redundancy masking is strong in radial arrangements and absent in tangential arrangements. Previous studies suggested that redundancy-masked percepts predominate in stimuli susceptible to redundancy masking. Here, we investigated whether strong redundancy masking is associated with high confidence in perceptual judgements. Observers viewed three to seven radially or tangentially arranged lines at 10° eccentricity. They first indicated the number of lines, and then rated their confidence in their responses. As expected, redundancy masking was strong in radial arrangements and weak in tangential arrangements. Importantly, with radial arrangements, observers were more confident in their responses when redundancy masking occurred (i.e., lower number of lines reported) than when it did not occur (i.e., correct number of lines reported). Hence, observers reported higher confidence for erroneous than for correct judgments. In contrast, with tangential arrangements, observers were similarly confident in their responses whether redundancy masking occurred or not. The inversion of confidence in the radial condition (higher confidence when accuracy was low and lower confidence when accuracy was high) suggests that redundancy-masked appearance trumps 'veridical' perception. The often-reported richness of visual consciousness may partly be due to overconfidence in erroneous judgments in visual scenes that are subject to redundancy masking

Generalized Fractional Integral Inequalities for Continuous Random Variables

Some generalized integral inequalities are established for the fractional expectation and the fractional variance for continuous random variables. Special cases of integral inequalities in this paper are studied by Barnett et al. and Dahmani

Etiology of Secondary Caries in Prosthodontic Treatments

When preparing prosthetic restorations, dentists always try to create restorations functionally ideal while not compromising on esthetics. The factors that make a restoration successful include how well they fit both internally and marginally, their ability to withstand punishment without breaking, and their visual appeal. Imperfect marginal adaptation can lead to unpleasant and unwanted side effects such as plaque accumulation, marginal discoloration, microleakage, carious and endodontic lesions, and periodontal disease. If there is a gap between the crown and the prepared tooth, this can result in the dissolution of the luting material. If the fit of the restoration and the thickness of the cement are designed to be favorable, the cement is not dissolved and the abutment tooth is prevented from secondary caries. The marginal fit of the restorations is considerably affected by the materials and techniques used when making dental crowns. This chapter contains reviews on marginal fitting and caries

L’introduction d’une nouvelle monnaie dans l’empire ottoman au XVIIe siècle d’après les registres de justice

La complexité du système monétaire ottoman peut se caractériser entre autres par la multiplicité des pièces émises, ou acceptées dans les paiements par l’Etat, et par la grande variété des pièces en circulation sur les marchés ottomans. Cette variété concerne la nature du métal composant la pièce, son poids et sa teneur en métal précieux, le lieu de frappe, le souverain émetteur, la « nationalité » et la dénomination de la pièce. Les travaux des numismates ottomanistes mettent en évidence cet..

Functional investigation of ESR1 fusions identified in endocrine therapy refractory estrogen receptor positive breast cancer

Metastatic estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer is an incurable disease that remains a clinical challenge and a public health burden. Over 40,000 women die each year from breast cancer and over 90% of these are due to metastatic disease. Although there has been great success with anti-endocrine treatment, most patients with metastatic disease develop resistance during the course of therapy. Loss of ER or missense mutations in the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of ER are reported as causal mechanisms of resistance. Recently, our laboratory showed that ESR1 fusions involving loss of LBD, play a role in lack of response to therapy. Only limited knowledge exists on the actual frequency and functional role of ESR1 fusions. Hence, I aimed to expand the search for further ESR1 fusions in advanced breast cancer disease and to characterize the functional role of ESR1 fusions (ESR1-DAB2, ESR1-GYG1 and ESR1-SOX9) our lab published earlier along with the ESR1-LPP fusion found in a PDX-model. Screening of RNA-seq data of primary-metastatic paired breast tumors (n=45) in University of Pittsburgh cohort and metastatic BrCa (n=91) in the MET500 cohort revealed a total of five ESR1 fusions sharing identical breakpoint with ESR1-YAP1 fusion. ESR1-GYG1 was the only ESR1 fusion identified in the Pitt-cohort. For functional assessment, the ESR1 fusions were transiently and stably transfected into cell lines. The immunofluorescence staining confirmed the predominant nuclear localization of the ESR1 fusions, while ESR1-LPP and ESR1-GYG1 fusions additionally displayed cytoplasmic localization. ER activity assays via luciferase assay and qRT-PCR demonstrated estrogen-independent constitutive activity of ESR1 fusions that is unresponsive to anti-endocrine treatment. While ESR1-DAB2 and ESR1-SOX9 fusions induced the transcription of estrogen-responsive genes, only ESR1-SOX9 demonstrated statistically significant estrogen-independent proliferation in stable expressing T47D cells. Overall, active ESR1 fusions may have a critical role in developing anti-endocrine resistance and promoting tumor progression. Since ESR1 fusions with loss of LBD are recurrent in therapy-refractory ER-positive breast cancer, further comprehensive studies are needed (1) to determine their true frequency, (2) to understand their mechanism of action and (3) to determine their value as prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers

Atypical visual field asymmetries in redundancy masking.

Redundancy masking is the reduction of the perceived number of items in repeating patterns. It shares a number of characteristics with crowding, the impairment of target identification in visual clutter. Crowding strongly depends on the location of the target in the visual field. For example, it is stronger in the upper compared to the lower visual field and is usually weakest on the horizontal meridian. This pattern of visual field asymmetries is common in spatial vision, as revealed by tasks measuring, for example, spatial resolution and contrast sensitivity. Here, to characterize redundancy masking and reveal its similarities to and differences from other spatial tasks, we investigated whether redundancy masking shows the same typical visual field asymmetries. Observers were presented with three to six radially arranged lines at 10° eccentricity at one of eight locations around fixation and were asked to report the number of lines. We found asymmetries that differed pronouncedly from those found in crowding. Redundancy masking did not differ between upper and lower visual fields. Importantly, redundancy masking was stronger on the horizontal meridian than on the vertical meridian, the opposite of what is usually found in crowding. These results show that redundancy masking diverges from crowding in regard to visual field asymmetries, suggesting different underlying mechanisms of redundancy masking and crowding. We suggest that the observed atypical visual field asymmetries in redundancy masking are due to the superior extraction of regularity and a more pronounced compression of visual space on the horizontal compared to the vertical meridian

Nurses’ work demands and work-family conflict: A questionnaire survey

Abstract Background: Work-family conflict is a type of interrole conflict that occurs as a result of incompatible role pressures from the work and family domains. Work role characteristics that are associated with work demands refer to pressures arising from excessive workload and time pressures. Literature suggests that work demands such as number of hours worked, workload, shift work are positively associated with work-family conflict, which, in turn is related to poor mental health and negative organizational attitudes. The role of social support has been an issue of debate in the literature. This study examined social support both as a moderator and a main effect in the relationship among work demands, work-to-family conflict, and satisfaction with job and life. Objectives: This study examined the extent to which work demands (i.e., work overload, irregular work schedules, long hours of work and overtime work) were related to work-to-family conflict as well as life and job satisfaction of nurses in Turkey. The role of supervisory support in the relationship among work demands, work-to-family conflict, and satisfaction with job and life was also investigated. Design and methods: The sample was comprised of 243 participants: 106 academic nurses (43.6%) and 137 clinical nurses (56.4%). All of the respondents were female. The research instrument was a questionnaire comprising nine parts. The variables were measured under four categories: work demands, work support (i.e., supervisory support), work-to-family conflict and its outcomes (i.e., life and job satisfaction). Results: The structural equation modeling results showed that work overload and irregular work schedules were the significant predictors of work-to-family conflict and that work-to-family conflict was associated with lower job and life satisfaction. Moderated multiple regression analyses showed that social support from the supervisor did not moderate the relationships among work demands, work-to-family conflict, and satisfaction with job and life. Exploratory analyses suggested that social support could be best conceptualized as the main effect directly influencing work-to-family conflict and job satisfaction. Conclusion: Nurses' psychological well-being and organizational attitudes could be enhanced by rearranging work conditions to reduce excessive workload and irregular work schedule. Also, leadership development programs should be implemented to increase the instrumental and emotional support of the supervisors.

Longevity of organic pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seeds

This study was carried out to determine seed longevity in organic and conventionally produced pepper seeds from four different pepper cultivars. Seeds were stored at 20± 2 oC with 7.5±0.5 seed moisture over 48 months. Longevity of seeds were evaluated with Ki (initial seed quality), P50 (half-viability period), σ (standard deviation of distribution of seed deaths in time), and regression coefficient values. The highest longevity was observed in ‘Corbaci’ and ‘Yaglik’ cultivars, while ‘Surmeli’ and ‘K. Dolma’ were found to have shorter longevity. P50 was 43.4 and 40.2 months for ‘Corbacı’ and 34.9 and 39.7 months for ‘Yaglık’ organic and conventional cultivars, respectively, whereas it was about 21.4 and 23.7 months in ‘K. Dolma’ and ‘Surmeli’ cultivars. Similarly, the highest σ and regression coefficient values were observed for ‘Corbaci’ and the lowest for ‘Surmeli’ cultivars. Organic and conventional pepper seed longevity was not different in the same species. Regression coefficient values were 0.043 in organic and 0.046 in conventional seeds for ‘Corbaci’. Very close values were found between the two production systems for the other cultivars too. Results indicate that organic seeds had similar longevity to conventional ones. The main differences originated from the cultivars, not from the production system

Chemical, Mineralogical, and Morphological Properties of Steel Slag

Steel slag is a byproduct of the steelmaking and steel refining processes. This paper provides an overview of the different types of steel slag that are generated from basic-oxygen-furnace (BOF) steelmaking, electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steelmaking, and ladle-furnace steel refining processes. The mineralogical and morphological properties of BOF and electric-arc-furnace-ladle [EAF(L)] slag samples generated from two steel plants in Indiana were determined through X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) studies. The XRD patterns of both BOF and EAF(L) slag samples were very complex, with several overlapping peaks resulting from the many minerals present in these samples. The XRD analyses indicated the presence of free MgO and CaO in both the BOF and EAF(L) slag samples. SEM micrographs showed that the majority of the sand-size steel slag particles had subangular to angular shapes. Very rough surface textures with distinct crystal structures were observed on the sand-size particles of BOF and EAF(L) slag samples under SEM. The characteristics of the steel slag samples considered in this study are discussed in the context of a detailed review of steel slag properties

The assessment of the knowledge and awareness about glaucoma in glaucoma patients and general population: a sample from Turkey

Background: The study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge and awareness of glaucoma and their possible determinants in a group of people diagnosed with glaucoma and in a population based group without glaucoma.Methods: The study included people with an age range of 40 to 80years; 410 patients without glaucoma who admitted to primary health care service and 113 patients who admitted to hospitals with diagnosis of glaucoma. In addition to Glaucoma Knowledge Level Questionnaire (GKLQ), participants were asked about their socio-demographic characteristics, level of awareness and resources of the information about glaucoma. Multivariate logistic regression and multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess the variants which have impact on the level of the awareness about glaucoma and to evaluate the factors effective on the score of GKLQ, respectively.Results: The ratio of awareness about glaucoma was found to be 64.1% in people without glaucoma. The knowledge and awareness about glaucoma were found to be higher in glaucoma patients compared to healthy people but not at a desired level. The education level was the only factor effecting both awareness and knowledge about glaucoma.Conclusions: As awareness about glaucoma can lead to early detection, the assessment of the knowledge and awareness about glaucoma is very important in terms of disease prevention. Health education and preventive health care services should be programmed including for both glaucoma patients and healthy people based on the level of their education