separate motion detecting mechanisms for first and second order patterns revealed by rapid forms of visual motion priming and motion aftereffect

Fast adaptation biases the perceived motion direction of a subsequently presented ambiguous test pattern (R. Kanai & F. A. Verstraten, 2005). Depending on both the duration of the adapting stimulus (ranging from tens to hundreds of milliseconds) and the duration of the adaptation-test blank interval, the perceived direction of an ambiguous test pattern can be biased towards the same or the opposite direction of the adaptation pattern, resulting in rapid forms of motion priming or motion aftereffect respectively. These findings were obtained employing drifting luminance gratings. Many studies have shown that first-order motion (luminance-defined) and second-order motion (contrast-defined) stimuli are processed by separate mechanisms. We assessed whether these effects also exist within the second-order motion domain. Results show that fast adaptation to second-order motion biases the perceived direction of a subsequently presented second-order ambiguous test pattern with similar time courses to that obtained for first-order motion. To assess whether a single mechanism could account for these results, we ran a cross-order adaptation condition. Results showed little or no transfer between the two motion cues and probes, suggesting a degree of separation between the neural substrates subserving fast adaptation of first- and second-order motion. © ARVO

Approaches to Measuring Entanglement in Chemical Magnetometers

Chemical magnetometers are radical pair systems such as solutions of pyrene and N,N-dimethylaniline (Py–DMA) that show magnetic field effects in their spin dynamics and their fluorescence. We investigate the existence and decay of quantum entanglement in free geminate Py–DMA radical pairs and discuss how entanglement can be assessed in these systems. We provide an entanglement witness and propose possible observables for experimentally estimating entanglement in radical pair systems with isotropic hyperfine couplings. As an application, we analyze how the field dependence of the entanglement lifetime in Py–DMA could in principle be used for magnetometry and illustrate the propagation of measurement errors in this approach

In vitro digestibility of field pea as influenced by processing methods

Field pea meals exposed to different treatments (flaking, extrusion, expansion, dry heating at 150°C/15' or 30', dry heating at 150°C/30' after addition of 1% of xylose, 4% NaOH addition, microwave irradiation at 800 W for 6' or 9') were controlled for their 6 and 24 hours in vitro fermentability by the gas production (GP) technique. Flaking and extrusion accelerated initial fermentation but tended to reduce 24h GP, whereas dry heating and microwaves mainly improved final gas volume, but NaOH had the opposite effect. Apparent dry matter digestion at 6h was lowered by dry heating, NaOH addition and the shorter microwave irradiation. Xylose addition did not substantially change the effects of dry heating, but lowered the initial disappearance. Ammonia concentration was in general lowered by the treatments, suggesting a reduction in protein degradability but also a possible higher microbial uptake for protein synthesis. Microwave irradiation had limited effects on all the parameters. Dry heating, with or without xylose addition, seems interesting to increase rumen escaping protein fraction without accelerating starch fermentation that could expose to higher risks of rumen acidosis

Relationship between aortic stiffness and a local pulsatile indice from the peripheral cutaneous microvasculature

International audienc

Complexity quantification of signals from the heart, the macrocirculation and the microcirculation through a multiscale entropy analysis

Quantifying and modelling the cardiovascular system (CVS) represent a challenge to improve our understanding of the CVS. To describe and quantify the CVS, several physiological signals have been analyzed through various signal processing methods. Recently, a quantitative descriptor – the multiscale entropy (MSE) – has been proposed to quantify time series complexity (i.e. the degree of regularity of signal fluctuations) over multiple time scales. Heart rate variability (HRV) signals (i.e. data from the heart) have largely been studied through MSE. By contrast, complexities of signals from the macrocirculation (i.e. elastic and muscular arteries) and the microcirculation (i.e. arterioles and capillaries), two other main components of the CVS, have rarely been investigated simultaneously with MSE. We therefore propose to quantify and compare complexity of signals from these three CVS subsystems: the heart, the macrocirculation and the microcirculation, using MSE. Electrocardiograms, electrical bio-impedance signals (macrocirculation), as well as laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) signals from finger and forearm (microcirculation) have been recorded simultaneously in nine healthy subjects. The MSE values from these data have been computed and compared. We note a significant lower complexity on scales τ = 1, 2 and 3 (i.e. around 1.08 Hz, 0.54 Hz and 0.36 Hz respectively) for LDF signals from the finger compared to the ones of signals from the heart and the macrocirculation. On scale τ = 5 (i.e. 0.21 Hz), complexity value of signals from the macrocirculation is significantly lower than the ones of HRV and data from the microvascular blood flow in forearm. The three CVS subsystems present different complexity values depending on scales. It could now be of interest to investigate if these complexity differences are due to physiological activities. Moreover, our results could be compared with those obtained from data recorded on patients with vascular diseases