An introduction to interactive sonification

The research field of sonification, a subset of the topic of auditory display, has developed rapidly in recent decades. It brings together interests from the areas of data mining, exploratory data analysis, human–computer interfaces, and computer music. Sonification presents information by using sound (particularly nonspeech), so that the user of an auditory display obtains a deeper understanding of the data or processes under investigation by listening

A study of topological characteristics in pattern perception physiology in the mammalian cortex

Experimental procedures for studying topological characteristics in pattern perception physiology of rat cerebral corte

Can a central bank influence its currency's real value? The Swiss case

Banks and banking, Central ; Switzerland ; Monetary policy - Switzerland

Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Porphyrogenes Watson (Lepidoptera: Pyrginae: Eudamini), with descriptions of new species from Central and South America

The pyrgine genus Porphyrogenes Watson, 1893 (Hesperiidae) is discussed, especially as it occurs in central Rondônia, Brazil. Of eleven species of Porphyrogenes found in Rondônia, four (P. specularis, P. convexus, P. sparus, and P. spadix) are described as new species. Biological details of the genus are discussed. An additional five new species of Porphyrogenes (P. spina, P. sporta, P. splendidus, P. simulator, and P. speciosus) are described from elsewhere. Porphyrogenes cervinus (Plötz, 1883), new synonym of Porphyrogenes ferruginea (Plötz, 1883), reinstated status, is raised from a subspecies of Porphyrogenes despecta (Butler, 1870) to species-level. Porphyrogenes omphale (Butler, 1871), reinstated status, is not synonymous with Porphyrogenes passalus (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869) and becomes a species-level taxon for which no subspecies are recognized; P. passalus was described from a female with no known male. Porphyrogenes sula Williams and Bell, 1940, reinstated status, is raised from synonymy with Porphyrogenes zohra (Möschler, 1879) to species-level. Porphyrogenes stresa Evans, 1952, new status, is raised from a subspecies of P. zohra to species-level. Porphyrogenes immaculata (Skinner, 1920), new synonymy, was described from a male, which we believe is the male of Porphyrogenes sororcula (Mabille and Boullet, 1912). Porphyrogenes suva Evans, 1952, new synonymy, formerly considered a full species, was described from a male which we believe is the male of, and thus synonymous with, Porphyrogenes probus (Möschler, 1877). Porphyrogenes virgatus (Mabille, 1888) and Porphyrogenes eudemus (Mabille, 1888), considered synonyms of P. zohra and Porphyrogenes vulpecula (Plötz, 1882), respectively, without justification by Evans (1952), are removed from those synonymies and retained, along with P. passalus, as females without confirmed affinities. Lectotypes are here designated for Phareas ferruginea Plötz, 1883; Augiades despecta Butler, 1870; Telegonus omphale Butler, 1871; Eudamus pausias Hewitson, 1867; Telegonus probus Möschler, 1877; Telemiades vulpecula Plötz, 1882; Eudamus passalus Herrich-Schäffer, 1869; Thymele virgatus Mabille, 1888; and Thymele eudemus Mabille, 1888. A neotype is designated for Phareas cervinus Plötz, 1883, that being the lectotype of Phareas ferruginea. Types of all taxa in the genus are illustrated. Three named and five unnamed phenotypes of females, not reconciled with males, are identified and described. Twenty-six species are now recognized, making this one of the largest hesperiid genera in the neotropics

Cherenkov Telescope Array: The next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory

High energy gamma-ray astronomy is a newly emerging and very successful branch of astronomy and astrophysics. Exciting results have been obtained by the current generation Cherenkov telescope systems such as H.E.S.S., MAGIC, VERITAS and CANGAROO. The H.E.S.S. survey of the galactic plane has revealed a large number of sources and addresses issues such as the question about the origin of cosmic rays. The detection of very high energy emission from extragalactic sources at large distances has provided insights in the star formation during the history of the universe and in the understanding of active galactic nuclei. The development of the very large Cherenkov telescope array system (CTA) with a sensitivity about an order of magnitude better than current instruments and significantly improved sensitivity is under intense discussion. This observatory will reveal an order of magnitude more sources and due to its higher sensitivity and angular resolution it will be able to detect new classes of objects and phenomena that have not been visible until now. A combination of different telescope types will provide the sensitivity needed in different energy ranges.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the 30th International Cosmic Ray Conference, Merida, July 200

Triggering of Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes: PMT trigger rates due to night-sky photons

Imaging air Cherenkov telescopes are usually triggered on a coincidence of two or sometimes more pixels, with discriminator thresholds in excess of 20 photoelectrons applied for each pixel. These thresholds required to suppress night-sky background are significantly higher than expected on the basis of a Poisson distribution in the number of night-sky photoelectrons generated during the characteristic signal integration time. We studied noise trigger rates under controlled conditions using an artificial background light source. Large tails in the PMT amplitude response to single photoelectrons are identified as a dominant contribution to noise triggers. The rate of such events is very sensitive to PMT operating parameters.Comment: 19 pages, latex,epsf, 7 figures appended as uuencoded file, submitted to Journal of Physics

What pops out in positional priming of pop-out: insights from event-related EEG lateralizations

It is well established that, in visual pop-out search, reaction time (RT) performance is influenced by cross-trial repetitions versus changes of target-defining attributes. One instance of this is referred to as “positional priming of pop-out” (pPoP; Maljkovic and Nakayama, 1996). In positional PoP paradigms, the processing of the current target is examined depending on whether it occurs at the previous target or a previous distractor location, relative to a previously empty location (“neutral” baseline), permitting target facilitation and distractor inhibition to be dissociated. The present study combined RT measures with specific sensory- and motor-driven event-related lateralizations to track the time course of four distinct processing levels as a function of the target’s position across consecutive trials. The results showed that, relative to targets at previous target and “neutral” locations, the appearance of a target at a previous distractor location was associated with a delayed build-up of the posterior contralateral negativity wave, indicating that distractor positions are suppressed at early stages of visual processing. By contrast, presentation of a target at a previous target, relative to “neutral” and distractor locations, modulated the elicitation of the subsequent stimulus-locked lateralized readiness potential wave, indicating that post-selective response selection is facilitated if the target occurred at the same position as on the previous trial. Overall, the results of present study provide electrophysiological evidence for the idea that target location priming (RT benefits) does not originate from an enhanced coding of target saliency at repeated (target) locations; instead, they arise (near-) exclusively from processing levels subsequent to focal-attentional target selection

Effect of disorder on the thermal transport and elastic properties in thermoelectric Zn4Sb3

Zn4Sb3 undergoes a phase transition from alpha to beta phase at T1[approximate]250 K. The high temperature beta-Zn4Sb3 phase has been widely investigated as a potential state-of-the-art thermoelectric (TE) material, due to its remarkably low thermal conductivity. We have performed electronic and thermal transport measurements exploring the structural phase transition at 250 K. The alpha to beta phase transition manifests itself by anomalies in the resistivity, thermopower, and specific heat at 250 K as well as by a reduction in the thermal conductivity as Zn4Sb3 changes phase from the ordered alpha to the disordered beta-phase. Moreover, measurements of the elastic constants using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) reveal a dramatic softening at the order-disorder transition upon warming. These measurements provide further evidence that the remarkable thermoelectric properties of beta-Zn4Sb3 are tied to the disorder in the crystal structure