Searching for filters with 'interesting' output distributions: an uninteresting direction to explore?

It has been independently proposed, by Barlow, Field, Intrator and co-workers, that the receptive fields of neurons in V1 are optimized to generate 'sparse', Kurtotic, or 'interesting' output probability distributions. We investigate the empirical evidence for this further and argue that filters can produce 'interesting' output distributions simply because natural images have variable local intensity variance. If the proposed filters have zero DC, then the probability distribution of filter outputs (and hence the output Kurtosis) is well predicted simply from these effects of variable local variance. This suggests that finding filters with high output Kurtosis does not necessarily signal interesting image structure. It is then argued that finding filters that maximize output Kurtosis generates filters that are incompatible with observed physiology. In particular the optimal difference-of-Gaussian (DOG) filter should have the smallest possible scale, an on-centre off-surround cell should have a negative DC, and that the ratio of centre width to surround width should approach unity. This is incompatible with the physiology. Further, it is also predicted that oriented filters should always be oriented in the vertical direction, and of all the filters tested, the filter with the highest output Kurtosis has the lowest signal-to-noise ratio (the filter is simply the difference of two neighbouring pixels). Whilst these observations are not incompatible with the brain using a sparse representation, it does argue that little significance should be placed on finding filters with highly Kurtotic output distributions. It is therefore argued that other constraints are required in order to understand the development of visual receptive fields.     

The complexities of complex span: Explaining individual differences in working memory in children and adults.

Two studies are presented that investigated the constraints underlying working memory performance in children and adults. In each case, independent measures of processing efficiency and storage capacity are assessed to determine their relative importance in predicting performance on complex span tasks, which measure working memory capacity. Results show that complex span performance was independently constrained by individual differences in dornain-general processing efficiency and domain-specific storage capacity. Residual variance, which may reflect the ability to coordinate storage and processing, also predicted academic achievement. These results challenge the view that complex span taps, a limited-capacity resource pool shared between processing and storage operations. Rather, they are consistent with a multiple-component model in which separate resource pools support the processing and storage functions of working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is the binding of visual features in working memory resource-demanding?

The episodic buffer component of working memory is assumed to play a role in the binding of features into chunks. A series of experiments compared memory for arrays of colors or shapes with memory for bound combinations of these features. Demanding concurrent verbal tasks were used to investigate the role of general attentional processes, producing load effects that were no greater on memory for feature combinations than for the features themselves. However, the binding condition was significantly less accurate with sequential rather than simultaneous presentation, especially for items earlier in the sequence. The findings are interpreted as evidence of a relatively automatic but fragile visual feature binding mechanism in working memory. Implications for the concept of an episodic buffer are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retroactive Effects of Irrelevant Speech on Serial Recall From Short-Term Memory.

The authors report 5 serial-recall experiments. In 4 of the 5 experiments, they show that irrelevant sound (IS) has a retroactive effect on material already in memory. In Experiment 1, IS presented during a filled retention interval had a reliable effect on list recall. Four further experiments, 3 of which used retroactive IS, showed that IS continued to-have an effect on recall following a long, filled retention interval. Articulatory suppression during visual input was found to abolish the long-lasting, retroactive effect of IS, supporting the idea that IS affects the phonological-loop component of short-term memory. IS also, therefore, seems to affect a longer term memory system with which the loop interacts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Results of jejuno-ileostomy for gross refractory obesity

The results of jejuno-ileostomy in 182 patients have been studied. The operative mortality was 1-1% and the overall mortality 6-6%, of which 3-3% was attributable to the effects of the small bowel bypass. Weight reduction usually ceased at about 18-24 months postoperatively, by which time the average fall was 36-3% of the mean original body weight. Males and younger patients achieved better than average results. The main side-effects were fatty infiltration of the liver, polyarthralgia, excessive diarrhoea and electrolyte upsets.     

Complications of rectal anastomoses with end-to-end anastomosis (EEA) stapling instrument. Clinical and radiological leak rates and some practical hints

The complications and results of rectal anastomoses carried out with the end-to-end anastomosis (EEA) stapling instrument on 50 patients by 5 consultant surgeons are recorded. There was a clinical leakage rate of 6% and a radiological leakage rate of 20% assessed by water-soluble contrast enema. The technique has advantages compared with hand-suture by allowing low anastomoses and preservation of sphincters and is accompanied by an acceptably low leakage rate. Despite the cost of disposable cartridges these advantages make the technique economical because of the avoidance of colostomies and reduction in hospital stay.     

Stereology of tubular structures

The morphology of a tubular structure can be characterized, in at least some of its important respects, through stereological methods. We study the geometric meaning of standard stereological quantities when applied to tubular structures, with particular regard to their curvature or tortuosity. Measures defined specifically in relation to tubular structures are also introduced for practical use. The ideal smooth bent cylinder, used here, is not realistic but provides general principles from which a more specialized investigation should be developed. The emphasis is placed on simple counting methods of measurement, specifically the tangent counts introduced by DeHoff, and counts of section profiles exhibiting a particular character (such as ‘figure-eights’). These measures convey information about the tortuosity of tubular structures, whereas the standard indices V_v, S_v, M_v give no information about tortuosity. Some data from human testicular tubules are discussed.     

A New Metric for Grey-Scale Image Comparison

Error measures can be used to numerically assess the differences between two images. Much work has been done on binary error measures, but little on objective metrics for grey-scale images. In our discussion here we introduce a new grey-scale measure, ^g, aiming to improve upon the most common grey-scale error measure, the root-mean-square error. Our new measure is an extension of the authors' recently developed binary error measure, ^b, not only in structure, but also having both a theoretical and intuitive basis. We consider the similarities between ^b and ^g when tested in practice on binary images, and present results comparing ^g to the root-mean-squared error and the Sobolev norm for various binary and grey-scale images. There are no previous examples where the last of these measures, the Sobolev norm, has been implemented for this purpose.     

4Pi microscopy deconvolution with a variable point-spread function

To remove the axial sidelobes from 4Pi images, deconvolution forms an integral part of 4Pi microscopy. As a result of its high axial resolution, the 4Pi point spread function (PSF) is particularly susceptible to imperfect optical conditions within the sample. This is typically observed as a shift in the position of the maxima under the PSF envelope. A significantly varying phase shift renders deconvolution procedures based on a spatially invariant PSF essentially useless. We present a technique for computing the forward transformation in the case of a varying phase at a computational expense of the same order of magnitude as that of the shift invariant case, a method for the estimation of PSF phase from an acquired image, and a deconvolution procedure built on these techniques.