Cortical Computation of Stereo Disparity

Our ability to see the world in depth is a major accomplishment of the brain. Previous models of how positionally disparate cues to the two eyes are binocularly matched limit possible matches by invoking uniqueness and continuity constraints. These approaches cannot explain data wherein uniqueness fails and changes in contrast alter depth percepts, or where surface discontinuities cause surfaces to be seen in depth although they are registered by only one eye (da Vinci stereopsis). A new stereopsis model explains these depth percepts by proposing how cortical complex cells binocularly filter their inputs and how monocular and binocular complex cells compete to determine the winning depth signals.Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (N00014-92-J-4015); Air Force Office of Scientific Research (90-0175); Office of Naval Research (N00014-91-J-4100); James S. McDonnell Foundation (94-40); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research (N00014-95-1-0409, N00014-95-1-0657

On the reflection of magnon bound states

We investigate the reflection of two-particle bound states of a free open string in the light-cone AdS_5 x S^5 string sigma model, for large angular momentum J=J_56 and ending on a D7 brane which wraps the entire AdS_5 and a maximal S^3 of S^5. We use the superspace formalism to analyse fundamental and two-particle bound states in the cases of supersymmetry-preserving and broken-supersymmetry boundaries. We find the boundary S-matrices corresponding to bound states both in the bulk and on the boundary.Comment: 35 pages, v2: few typos and ref corrected, accepted for publication in JHE

Cortical computation of stereo disparity

AbstractOur ability to see the world in depth is a major accomplishment of the brain. Previous models of how positionally disparate cues to the two eyes are binocularly matched limit possible matches by invoking uniqueness and continuity constraints. These approaches cannot explain data wherein uniqueness fails and changes in contrast alter depth percepts, or where surface discontinuities cause surfaces to be seen in depth, although they are registered by only one eye (da Vinci stereopsis). A new stereopsis model explains these depth percepts by proposing how cortical complex cells binocularly filter their inputs and how monucular and binocular complex cells compete to determine the winning depth signals

From Invention to Innovation: Technology Licensing by New Ventures in the Biopharmaceutical Industry

Licensing out technologies is a major source of revenue for new technology ventures. While technology licensing is economically important and poses unique challenges, it has yet received little attention in past marketing literature. We analyze how alliances with established firms, structural positions within scientific research, patent and commercial networks, and the nature of technology portfolios (i.e., radical and incremental innovations) of new ventures influence the number of successful licensing deals secured by the new ventures. We draw on theories of structure and legitimacy of new ventures to conjecture how the number and nature of alliances, centrality positions within scientific research, patent and commercial networks, and the composition of technology portfolios can affect a new venture’s number of licensing deals, and how these effects may vary over time. We study these key issues by examining all public firms in the UK biopharmaceutical industry from 1989 to 2009. Because we observe overdispersion in the data, we specify a negative binomial model to investigate the conjectured effects as drivers of successful deals, and provide a sharper understanding of the relations between the collaboration and co-creating with innovation communities, structural positions within innovation networks, the trade-off between radical and incremental innovation portfolios, and time of the specific innovatio

The Clinical Application of Urine Soluble CD163 in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis.

BACKGROUND: Up to 70% of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) develop GN, with 26% progressing to ESKD. Diagnostic-grade and noninvasive tools to detect active renal inflammation are needed. Urinary soluble CD163 (usCD163) is a promising biomarker of active renal vasculitis, but a diagnostic-grade assay, assessment of its utility in prospective diagnosis of renal vasculitis flares, and evaluation of its utility in proteinuric states are needed. METHODS: We assessed a diagnostic-grade usCD163 assay in ( RESULTS: We established a diagnostic reference range, with a cutoff of 250 ng/mmol for active renal vasculitis (area under the curve [AUC], 0.978). Using this cutoff, usCD163 was elevated in renal vasculitis flare (AUC, 0.95) but remained low in flare mimics, such as nonvasculitic AKI. usCD163\u27s specificity declined in patients with AAV who had nephrotic-range proteinuria and in those with primary podocytopathy, with 62% of patients with nephrotic syndrome displaying a positive usCD163. In patients with AAV and significant proteinuria, usCD163 normalization to total urine protein rather than creatinine provided the greatest clinical utility for diagnosing active renal vasculitis. CONCLUSIONS: usCD163 is elevated in renal vasculitis flare and remains low in flare mimics. Nonspecific protein leakage in nephrotic syndrome elevates usCD163 in the absence of glomerular macrophage infiltration, resulting in false-positive results; this can be corrected with urine protein normalization