Method For Control Of A Cooling Fan In A Camera Recording System For Reduced Vibration

A system and method are disclosed for reducing vibration from a camera cooling fan and thereby preserving high image quality. The system uses one or more accelerometers to provide feedback on vibration intensity and frequency that are used as input to control the fan. The fan may be switched at variable speed by a controller receiving inputs from a temperature sensor. The accelerometer(s) would measure the vibration in the camera structure at important locations such as the camera lens that would be sent to a computer or processor connected to the fan controller. The system would extract the vibration characteristics to identify speeds at which vibration is at a minimum. If the camera were too hot, the fan control loop could speed the fan up and find a local vibration minimum that would still keep the camera cool. The system uses inexpensive sensor inputs to improve image quality in cameras

Clonality and Genetic Diversity Revealed by AFLPs in Schisandra glabra (Brickell) Rheder (Schisandraceae), a Rare Basal Angiosperm

Rare species with fragmented distributions often exhibit reduced levels of genetic diversity within populations. However, life history traits such as long lived perennial habit and outcrossing mating system, are associated with high levels of within species genetic variation being partitioned within populations. Schisandra glabra (Schisandraceae) is a rare basal angiosperm with a fragmented distribution across the southeastern US and in a disjunct population in cloudforest of Mexico. The species’ clonal reproduction by rhizomes, confounds the delineation of genetically distinct individuals in the field. The patterns of genetic diversity and clonality in 10 populations of S. glabra were investigated using AFLP markers. I found a surprising number of distinct genetic individuals in the two populations sampled on 3m grids, with 31 unique genotypes out of 42 samples at Wolfpen Creek, KY, and unique genotypes in all 48 samples from Panther Creek, GA. AMOVA of 237 individuals from 10 populations revealed that the largest portion of the genetic variation is found within populations (58.0%; P\u3c0.0001), and 27.7% (P\u3c0.0001) of the genetic variation is partitioned between the US and Mexico S. glabra populations. Population structure was also detected between the US and Mexico populations, but no structure was detected between the majority of the US populations. The genetic differentiation of the disjunct population in Mexico, may be the result of a Pliocene or Miocene vicariance hypothesized for many species with similar distributions. The high levels of genetic diversity found within populations are evidence of historical gene flow between the US populations, and the preservation of genetic diversity by the long lived species in its present fragmented distribution

Coupling thermal subsystems on head-mounted displays

A multi-body augmented or virtual reality device is a head-mounted display whose constituent units can be flipped up, e.g., from over the eyes to over the forehead. In a multi-body AR/VR device, thermal problems associated with high processing power are exacerbated by the need to cool down each constituent unit. This disclosure describes techniques that achieve efficient thermal regulation in a multi-body wearable device by establishing a conductive or convective thermal path between the constituent units of the device. The techniques enable a flexible and ergonomic industrial design, and reduce duplicated componentry, weight and cost

RESOLVING COOKING INSTRUCTIONS FROM FOOD PACKAGING

The invention discloses a smart appliance cooking system. The smart appliance cooking system can be used to retrieve cooking instructions from a packaged food item and then cause a smart appliance to cook the food item according to the cooking instructions. The smart appliance cooking system detects that a food item has been placed into a cooking appliance. The system resolves cooking instructions for the food item from the packaging of the food item. Subsequently, the system causes the cooking appliance to cook the food item according to the resolved cooking instructions

Self-Contained Testable AR Glasses Sub-Module

Designers of AR glasses are faced with packaging challenges. Packaging constraints may force optical components to be aligned at the top level of assembly or some sort of final alignment may be required at the highest level. This causes the display to not be testable or sealed until the device is almost fully assembled. This disclosure describes a fully self-contained testable module that includes an entire see-through stack and integrated display for augmented reality glasses. The module is sealed from the environment, preserving the performance as it is shipped and integrated into the AR glasses, and delivered to the customer. AR glasses with a fully testable module as described herein are modular, which makes them easier to repair and upgrade. If necessary due to issues at higher level assembly or with returned units, the module can be replaced independent of other components. The modular design also allows for flexibility with respect to supply management

Wearable Device Charging Dongle with Integrated Heatsink and Fan

This disclosure describes techniques for effective thermal management of wearable devices such as AR/VR headsets or smartglasses when used in developer mode. Per techniques of this disclosure, a charging dongle that includes a heatsink and/or a fan is provided for use of a wearable device when in developer mode. The heatsink and/or fan on the charging dongle improves heat dissipation from the wearable device and mitigates overheating of the wearable device. Optionally, a temperature sensor is provided to enable accurate measurement of the temperature of the wearable device. If the measured temperature of the heatsink is close to a threshold, an alert is transmitted to the user and/or the charging current adjusted to a lower value. Further, the fan can be automatically activated based on the sensed temperature

How to test for phasic modulation of neural and behavioural responses.

Research on whether perception or other processes depend on the phase of neural oscillations is rapidly gaining popularity. However, it is unknown which methods are optimally suited to evaluate the hypothesized phase effect. Using a simulation approach, we here test the ability of different methods to detect such an effect on dichotomous (e.g., "hit" vs "miss") and continuous (e.g., scalp potentials) response variables. We manipulated parameters that characterise the phase effect or define the experimental approach to test for this effect. For each parameter combination and response variable, we identified an optimal method. We found that methods regressing single-trial responses on circular (sine and cosine) predictors perform best for all of the simulated parameters, regardless of the nature of the response variable (dichotomous or continuous). In sum, our study lays a foundation for optimized experimental designs and analyses in future studies investigating the role of phase for neural and behavioural responses. We provide MATLAB code for the statistical methods tested

Response to fragmentation by avian communities is mediated by species traits

Aim The hypothesis that habitat fragmentation negatively influences biodiversity stems from island biogeography and metapopulation theory which predict negative impacts of decreasing patch size on richness and distribution patterns. Empirical support of this idea is weak in terrestrial systems, though tests of fragmentation effects are typically confounded with landscape composition and potentially obscured by imperfect detection. Here, we used multispecies occupancy models and a mensurative experimental design to test competing hypotheses about how forest fragmentation influences distributions of breeding forest bird species and communities. Location Southern Indiana, USA. Methods During the breeding seasons of 2011-2013, we recorded over 80,000 bird detections in 202 forest fragments using a sampling design that isolated the effects of patch size per se from the effects of forest amount within a 2 km radius, edge distance, local vegetation and sampling area. We modelled the effects of these covariates on distributions of individual species categorized by ecological trait groups (i.e., forest, forest interior or forest edge), and evaluated how forest loss and fragmentation impact species richness. Results Though our results indicated little effect of patch size on total species richness, decreasing patch size had a negative effect on interior species, and a positive effect on edge species. The effects of total forest amount were much more variable, and surprisingly had a negative influence on many species, particularly cavity nesters. Main conclusions Our results do not support theoretical predictions that forest patch size should positively influence bird species richness. However, composition of bird communities shifted towards edge species from interior species with decreasing patch size. Maintaining large forest patches is thus critical for supporting forest interior species, which tend to be of the greatest conservation concern

Genome-Scale Multilocus Microsatellite Typing of Trypanosoma cruzi Discrete Typing Unit I Reveals Phylogeographic Structure and Specific Genotypes Linked to Human Infection

Trypanosoma cruzi is the most important parasitic infection in Latin America and is also genetically highly diverse, with at least six discrete typing units (DTUs) reported: Tc I, IIa, IIb, IIc, IId, and IIe. However, the current six-genotype classification is likely to be a poor reflection of the total genetic diversity present in this undeniably ancient parasite. To determine whether epidemiologically important information is “hidden” at the sub-DTU level, we developed a 48-marker panel of polymorphic microsatellite loci to investigate population structure among 135 samples from across the geographic distribution of TcI. This DTU is the major cause of resurgent human disease in northern South America but also occurs in silvatic triatomine vectors and mammalian reservoir hosts throughout the continent. Based on a total dataset of 12,329 alleles, we demonstrate that silvatic TcI populations are extraordinarily genetically diverse, show spatial structuring on a continental scale, and have undergone recent biogeographic expansion into the southern United States of America. Conversely, the majority of human strains sampled are restricted to two distinct groups characterised by a considerable reduction in genetic diversity with respect to isolates from silvatic sources. In Venezuela, most human isolates showed little identity with known local silvatic strains, despite frequent invasion of the domestic setting by infected adult vectors. Multilocus linkage indices indicate predominantly clonal parasite propagation among all populations. However, excess homozygosity among silvatic strains and raised heterozygosity among domestic populations suggest that some level of genetic recombination cannot be ruled out. The epidemiological significance of these findings is discussed

The effect of the addition of resistance training to a dietary education intervention on apolipoproteins and diet quality in overweight and obese older adults

Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine the additive effect of resistance training (RT) to a dietary education (DE) intervention on emerging coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, concentration of apolipoproteins B (apoB) and A-I (apoA-I), and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet Index scores in overweight and obese older adults. Patients and Methods: This was an ancillary study of a randomized clinical trial held in the Fall of 2008 at the University of Rhode Island. Participants were overweight or obese subjects (mean body mass index [BMI] of 31.7 kg/m2) randomized into two groups, one participating in DE only (n = 12) and the other participating in DE plus RT (DERT) (n = 15). The intervention involved all subjects participating in 30 minutes of DE per week for 10 weeks. Subjects in the DERT group participated in an additional 40 minutes of RT three times per week for 10 weeks. Measurements taken were anthropometric (height, weight, waist circumference, and body composition using the BOD POD® [Body Composition System, v 2.14; Life Measurement Instruments, Concord, CA]), clinical (blood pressure), and biochemical (lipid profile and apoB and apoA-I concentrations), and the DASH Diet Index was used to measure diet quality. Results: 27 subjects (11 males, 16 females), with a mean age of 66.6 ± 4.3 years, were included in analyses. The DERT subjects had significantly better triacylglycerol and apoB concentrations and DASH Diet Index scores than the DE subjects post-intervention. Improvements were seen within the DE group in energy intake, fat-free mass, and systolic blood pressure and within the DERT group in body weight, percentage of body fat, BMI, diastolic blood pressure, and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (all P \u3c 0.05). Conclusion: The addition of RT effectively reduced CHD risk factors, body composition, and diet quality in overweight and obese older adults; DERT was more effective than DE alone in improving DASH Diet Index scores and lowering apoB concentrations but was not more effective in increasing apoA-I concentrations. Future research is needed to determine if apolipoproteins are superior to lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations in predicting CHD risk