443 research outputs found
Can subthreshold summation be observed with the Ehrenstein illusion?
No full textSubthreshold summation between physical target lines and illusory contours induced by edges such as those produced in the Kanizsa illusion has been reported in previous studies. Here, we investigated the ability of line-induced illusory contours, using Ehrenstein figures, to produce similar subthreshold summation. In the first experiment, three stimulus conditions were presented. The target line was superimposed on the illusory contour of a four-arm Ehrenstein figure, or the target was presented between two dots (which replaced the arms of the Ehrenstein figure), or the target was presented on an otherwise blank screen (control). Detection of the target line was significantly worse when presented on the illusory contour (on the Ehrenstein figure) than when presented between two dots. This result was consistent for both curved and straight target lines, as well as for a 100 ms presentation duration and unlimited presentation duration. Performance was worst in the control condition. The results for the three stimulus conditions were replicated in a second experiment in which an eight-arm Ehrenstein figure was used to produce a stronger and less ambiguous illusory contour. In the third experiment, the target was either superimposed on the illusory contour, or was located across the central gap (illusory surface) of the Ehrenstein figure, collinear with two arms of the figure. As in the first two experiments, the target was either presented on the Ehrenstein figure, or between dots, or on a blank screen. Detection was better in the dot condition than in the Ehrenstein condition, regardless of whether the target was presented on the illusory contour or collinear with the arms of the Ehrenstein figure. These three experiments demonstrate the ability of reduced spatial uncertainty to facilitate the detection of a target line, but do not provide any evidence for subthreshold summation between a physical target line and the illusory contours produced by an Ehrenstein figure. The incongruence of these results with previous findings on Kanizsa figures is discussed
Postmigracijska estetika: Avtofikcijsko narativno delovanje v pisanju Dijane Matković in vizualnem ustvarjanju Anne Ehrenstein
No full textPričujoče besedilo osvetli postmigracijsko estetiko skozi prizmo koncepta »postmigracije« in analizo avtofikcijskih pristopov, posebej pripovednega delovanja (angl. narrative agency), v romanu Zakaj ne pišem (2021) avtorice Dijane Matković in v izbranih vizualnih delih umetnice Anne Ehrenstein. S predlogom pojma »metapripovedne nadidentifikacije« kot kritičnega poistovetenja z od zunaj vsiljenimi kategorijami besedilo pokaže, kako avtorici skozi pripovedno delovanje kritizirata družbeno konstrukcijo »pristnosti« in s tem produkcijo družbenih razlik ter artikulirata odpor proti hegemonialni dihotomni predstavi družbe, zaradi katere nekateri vsled razreda, kraja rojstva (staršev), etnije, narodnosti, rase in spola »pripadamo«, drugi pa (p)ostanemo »tujci«
Postmigracijska estetika: Avtofikcijsko narativno delovanje v pisanju Dijane Matković in vizualnem ustvarjanju Anne Ehrenstein
No full textThe present text follows post-migrant aesthetics by utilizing the concept of “postmigration” and analyzing the autofictional, especially narrative agency, in the novel Why Don’t I Write (2021) by Dijana Matković and selected visual works by artist Anna Ehrenstein. By proposing the notion of “metanarrative overidentification” as a critical identification with externally imposed categories, the text shows how the authors, through a critique of the social construction of “authenticity” and thus of the production of social differences, articulate resistance to the hegemonic dichotomous idea of society, which makes some “belong” by virtue of place of birth (of parents), class, ethnicity, nationality, race, and gender, while others remain “aliens.”Pričujoče besedilo osvetli postmigracijsko estetiko skozi prizmo koncepta »postmigracije« in analizo avtofikcijskih pristopov, posebej pripovednega delovanja (angl. narrative agency), v romanu Zakaj ne pišem (2021) avtorice Dijane Matković in v izbranih vizualnih delih umetnice Anne Ehrenstein. S predlogom pojma »metapripovedne nadidentifikacije« kot kritičnega poistovetenja z od zunaj vsiljenimi kategorijami besedilo pokaže, kako avtorici skozi pripovedno delovanje kritizirata družbeno konstrukcijo »pristnosti« in s tem produkcijo družbenih razlik ter artikulirata odpor proti hegemonialni dihotomni predstavi družbe, zaradi katere nekateri vsled razreda, kraja rojstva (staršev), etnije, narodnosti, rase in spola »pripadamo«, drugi pa (p)ostanemo »tujci«
Anomalous Induction of Brightness and Surface Qualities: A New Illusion Due to Radial Lines and Chromatic Rings
No full textWhen a chromatic (eg light-blue) annulus surrounds the central gap of an Ehrenstein figure so as to connect the inner ends of the radial lines, a striking new lightness effect emerges: the central white disk has both a self-luminous quality (brighter than in the regular Ehrenstein figure) and a surface quality (dense, paste-like). Self-luminous and surface qualities do not ordinarily appear co-extensively: hence, the brightness induction is called anomalous. In experiment 1, subjects separately scaled self-luminous and surface properties, and in experiment 2, brightness was nulled by physically darkening the central gap. Experiments 3 and 4 were designed to evaluate the importance of chromatic versus achromatic properties of the annulus; other aspects of the annulus (width or the inclusion of a thin black ring inside or outside the chromatic annulus) were tested in experiments 5-7. In experiments 8-12, subjects rated the brightness of modified Ehrenstein figures varying the radial lines (number, length, width, contrast, arrangement). Variation of these parameters generally affected brightness enhancement in the Ehrenstein figure and anomalous brightness induction in a similar manner, but was stronger for the latter effect. On the basis of these results, anomalous brightness induction is attributed to a surface induction process triggered by an interaction between illusory brightness enhancement (due to the radial lines) and border ownership (due to the blue annulus)
Helping everyone do better: a call for validation studies of routinely recorded health data
No full textVera Ehrenstein,1 Irene Petersen,1,2 Liam Smeeth,3 Susan S Jick,4 Eric I Benchimol,5,6 Jonas F Ludvigsson,7,8 Henrik Toft Sørensen11Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 2Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK; 3Department of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; 4Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; 5Department of Pediatrics and School of Epidemiology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; 6Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada; 7Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 8Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Örebro, SwedenThere has been a surge of availability and use for research of routinely collected electronic health data, such as electronic health records, health administrative data, and disease registries. Symptomatic of this surge, in 2012, Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety (PDS) published a supplemental issue containing several reviews of validated methods for identifying health outcomes using routine health data,1 focusing on databases feeding the US Mini-Sentinel Program.
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Child Stunting in Madagascar and Zambia: An Examination of Maternal and Child Characteristics, Household Water/Sanitation, and Armed Conflict Exposures
No full textChild stunting, or linear growth faltering, affects 1 in 5 children under the age of five years. These 151 million stunted children predominantly live in low- and middle-income countries. For decades, clinicians and researchers considered stunting a form of chronic malnutrition but modest gains were made in eliminating stunting through nutritional interventions. This dissertation explored emerging areas in child stunting. Chapters 1 and 2 introduced stunting and provided backgrounds, respectively. The research was guided by the Social Ecological Model and Life Course Perspective in approaching stunting as embedded in macro structures at multiple levels over the life course of women and children. Chapter 3 described theoretical frameworks and an integrated model. The analyses focused on Madagascar and Zambia, which were ranked among countries with the highest proportions of child stunting. We used health data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and armed conflict data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) database in Madagascar and Zambia. Chapter 4 detailed the methodology, including multivariate logistic and linear regression models assessing child stunting and height-for-age z-score (HAZ) outcomes. Chapter 5 examined maternal anthropometry and child gender factors. Results indicated that short stature or underweight in mothers were associated with increased stunting odds while higher maternal height and BMI scores were associated with higher child HAZ. Chapter 6 investigated household water and sanitation measures. We found that households without piped water and finished flooring were associated with increased stunting odds. Stunting was associated with lack of an advanced flush toilet in Zambia but not in Madagascar. Chapter 7 explored proximity of armed conflict events during critical developmental periods with child stunting and height. Conflict exposure during pregnancy was associated with increased stunting odds and lower HAZ in Madagascar but decreased odds and higher HAZ in Zambia. This dissertation framed stunting as occurring over the life course and embedded in multiple external structures. These studies were among the first to examine population-level environmental enteric dysfunction risk factors and apply disaggregated conflict data to stunting. We also contributed stunting context in Madagascar and Zambia, which have been understudied
Ultra-low current beams in UMER to model space-charge effects in high-energy proton and ion machines
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Impact of DNA ligase IV on nonhomologous end joining pathways during class switch recombination in human cells
No full textClass switch recombination (CSR) is a region-specific, transcriptionally regulated, nonhomologous recombinational process that is initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). The initial lesions in the switch (S) regions are subsequently processed and resolved, leading to recombination of the two targeted S regions. The mechanisms by which repair and ligation of the broken DNA ends occurs is still elusive. Recently, a small number of patients lacking DNA ligase IV, a critical component of the nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) machinery, have been identified. We show that these patients display a considerably increased donor/acceptor homology at Smu-Salpha junctions compared with healthy controls. In contrast, Smu-Sgamma junctions show an increased frequency of insertions but no increase in junctional homology. These altered patterns of junctional resolution may be related to differences in the homology between the Slut and the downstream isotype S regions, and could reflect different modes of switch junction resolution when NHEJ is impaired. These findings link DNA ligase IV, and thus NHEJ, to CSR
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