4,827 research outputs found
Psychophysical evidence for two routes to suppression before binocular summation of signals in human vision
No full textVisual mechanisms in primary visual cortex are suppressed by the superposition of gratings perpendicular to their preferred orientations. A clear picture of this process is needed to (i) inform functional architecture of image-processing models, (ii) identify the pathways available to support binocular rivalry, and (iii) generally advance our understanding of early vision. Here we use monoptic sine-wave gratings and cross-orientation masking (XOM) to reveal two cross-oriented suppressive pathways in humans, both of which occur before full binocular summation of signals. One is a within-eye (ipsiocular) pathway that is spatially broadband, immune to contrast adaptation and has a suppressive weight that tends to decrease with stimulus duration. The other pathway operates between the eyes (interocular), is spatially tuned, desensitizes with contrast adaptation and has a suppressive weight that increases with stimulus duration. When cross-oriented masks are presented to both eyes, masking is enhanced or diminished for conditions in which either ipsiocular or interocular pathways dominate masking, respectively. We propose that ipsiocular suppression precedes the influence of interocular suppression and tentatively associate the two effects with the lateral geniculate nucleus (or retina) and the visual cortex respectively. The interocular route is a good candidate for the initial pathway involved in binocular rivalry and predicts that interocular cross-orientation suppression should be found in cortical cells with predominantly ipsiocular drive
R.J. Sommers
No full textThe single-spaced paragraph on the “About the Author” page of R.J. Sommers’ latest novel says she lives in a one-story house on the edge of a city. It says she is renowned for writing relatable characters and compelling relationships. It says nothing about her own friends.
Gazing from a photo at the top of the page, R.J. Sommers appears to point a camera toward her readers..
Author Co-Citation Analysis (ACA): a powerful tool for representing implicit knowledge of scholar knowledge workers
No full textIn the last decade, knowledge has emerged as one of the most important and valuable organizational assets. Gradually this importance caused to emergence of new discipline entitled ―knowledge management‖. However one of the major challenges of knowledge management is conversion implicit or tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. Thus Making knowledge visible so that it can be better accessed, discussed, valued or generally managed is a long-standing objective in knowledge management. Accordingly in this paper author co- citation analysis (ACA) will be proposed as an efficient technique of knowledge visualization in academia (Scholar knowledge workers)
Report on industrial attachment with R.J. Crocker Consultants Pte Ltd
No full textThis report documents the undertaking of the author’s six months of industrial attachment. It was the industrial attachment that gave him the opportunity to discover the innovative skills and expertise from his fellow colleagues working the organization. Throughout the attachment, the author had learnt a great deal from various trained and experienced engineers. He had been exposed to a variety of training namely (1) reinforcement concrete design, (2) steel and connection design, (3) modelling structures for design and analysis using software, (4) visual inspections for buildings, (5) preparing tender documents, (6) drawing, presentation and attending and (7) handling online submissions for building inspections, structural plans, design calculations, etc. Furthermore, by attending project meetings, preparing materials for presentations, tendering documents and drawings to privatized companies and public sectors all bestowed the author a concrete understanding of the type and quality of work required of and produced by a qualified engineer. Without the industrial attachment, all these practical skills and knowledge might not have been attainable by learning in the university alone. It was overall a fruitful experience
Information Circular 12. Selected Bibliography of Cuyuna Range Geology, Mining and Metallurgy
No full textThis work is an extension of a bibliography prepared by the author as part of a final report submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Mines for grant # G026/t002 entitled "Manganese-bearing ores of the Cuyuna iron range, east-central Minnesota, Phase 1". This bibliography, though directed primarily towards the geologic and mining literature of the Cuyuna range, does include the major works on the metallurgical aspects of the Cuyuna ores. For historical interest the very earliest publications are included. This list of abbreviations given on pages 2-4 are consistent with those from the "Bibliography and Index of Geology".Beltrame, R.J.. (1977). Information Circular 12. Selected Bibliography of Cuyuna Range Geology, Mining and Metallurgy. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/59304
The Late Fifteenth-Century Utrecht Chronicle of the Teutonic Order: Manuscripts, Sources, and Authorship
No full textBy studying the Utrecht Chronicle of the Teutonic Order, also known as the ‘Jüngere Hochmeisterchronik’, I aimed to examine the circulation of (historical) knowledge within the Teutonic Order at the end of the fifteenth century. Only decades earlier, the order suffered major defeats in Prussia and its former heathen enemies had become Christians. It has been the underlying aim of this study to gain an understanding of the introduction of the order’s tradition of history writing to the Dutch Low Countries, far removed from the traditional production centres in Prussia and Livonia, as well as the effects this change of location, and accompanying change of perspective had on the content and purpose of such historical production within the order. In this dissertation, I have been able to establish that the chronicle was written in Utrecht, in various phases from 1480 to 1491 and possibly the mid-1490s, by the Utrecht land commander Johan van Drongelen and his personal secretary. The material product of their collaboration is a manuscript kept in Vienna, which can now be classified as an author’s copy. I have also shown in detail how the text was constructed, and that the author(s) managed to collect a wide selection of sources – including from locations hundreds of kilometres away from the city of Utrecht. We have therefore come much closer to understanding the specific circumstances under which the chronicle was written, as well as the preconditions of that environment which made it possible to undertake such an ambitious project
The potential affordances of enterprise wikis for creating community in research networks
No full textIn this paper, we describe some of the affordances, (the specific enabling features or characteristics), of an enterprise wiki to meet the needs of a developing community of practice. The Social Innovation Network (SInet) is a nascent research network that spans the social sciences, education and commerce at the University of Wollongong. It will use the enterprise wiki software Confluence to assist in the development of communities of practice across its groups and subgroups. This paper, describes some of the features of the software and how it might be used to perform some of the common activities identified by Wenger (nd) as contributing to the development of community
Optical micromanipulation of aerosols
No full textThis thesis describes my work on the development of optical trapping
techniques for manipulating airborne particles. Although many of the basic
principles are similar to those used in more conventional colloidal experiments,
there are many differences which have been described and investigated in
detail in this work.
Basic characterisation measurements are made, such as axial Q and sample size
selectivity, for a number of sample liquids in a basic optical tweezers setup.
Performance at 532nm and 1064nm were compared and shown to be very
similar, despite increased absorption in the infrared. A successful method was
developed for the optical trapping of solid aerosol particles, allowing a direct
comparison between similar particles suspended in both the gas and liquid
phase.
A single beam levitation trap was developed for transporting liquid aerosols to
allow multiple chemical measurements to be made on a single droplet.
Performance between Gaussian and Bessel beams was compared for various
liquids, with guiding distances of several millimetres being achieved with the
Bessel beam geometry.
An experiment to demonstrate lasing within an optically tweezed droplet was
also performed and spectra were taken. Although strong resonance modes
were evident, the data was not conclusive. However, it is likely that a redesign
of the experiment would be successful.
These techniques have extended research capabilities in the areas of both
optical trapping and atmospheric chemistry, allowing the detailed study of
single aerosol particles in the 1-10 μm range
Precession- and Obliquity-Induced Changes in Moisture Sources for Enhanced Precipitation Over the Mediterranean Sea
No full textEnhanced winter precipitation over the Mediterranean Sea at times of minimum precession and maximum obliquity, that is, times of enhanced insolation seasonality, could provide freshwater required to form orbitally paced sedimentary cycles across the Mediterranean, offering a possible alternative to monsoonal runoff. We investigate the sources of the enhanced winter precipitation, by applying a moisture tracking model on the results of idealized orbital extreme experiments with a state-of-the-art climate model. Precession and obliquity enhance precipitation in fall and winter. Our study shows that the source of enhanced precipitation over the Mediterranean Sea differs during the winter half-year. In fall, the majority of the precession-induced precipitation increase originates from the Mediterranean itself. However, in late winter, the increase can be attributed to enhanced moisture advection from the Atlantic. This agrees with changes in evaporation and air-sea temperature differences over the Mediterranean. The obliquity-induced precipitation increase shows much less differences, with an equal contribution of local and Atlantic sources. The mechanism behind the Atlantic source of moisture, particularly important in late winter for precession-induced precipitation changes, is related to a weakened Azores High and slightly higher surface pressure over North Africa. The resulting anomalous circulation patterns generate enhanced Atlantic moisture transport toward the Mediterranean. These mechanisms coincide with weaker storm track activity over the North Atlantic, opposite to previous studies that often attribute enhanced Mediterranean winter precipitation to a southward shift and intensification of the Atlantic storm track. We thus provide an alternative mechanism for Atlantic sources of orbitally paced Mediterranean precipitation changes.Water Resource
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