Saccadic system functioning among schizophrenia patients and their first-degree biological relatives.

In Study 1, 30 schizophrenia Ss and 27 nonpsychiatric comparison Ss were presented with a fixation task, a visually guided reflexive saccade (prosaccade) task, a predictive tracking task (0.4-Hz square wave), and an antisaccade task. The 2 groups did not differ on either the fixation or prosaccade tasks. Schizophrenia Ss had an increased number of errors on the antisaccade task and had decreased rightward visually guided saccade amplitudes during the predictive tracking task. In Study 2, 13 psychiatric comparison Ss and 32 1st-degree biological relatives of the schizophrenia Ss were compared with the schizophrenia Ss and a larger and older sample of nonpsychiatric Ss (n?=?33) on the predictive tracking and antisaccade tasks. The groups did not differ on predictive saccadic tracking. The schizophrenia Ss and their 1st-degree biological relatives made more errors on the antisaccade task than both the nonpsychiatric and psychiatric comparison groups (who did not significantly differ). Results are consistent with the notion that dysfunction of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, or both is related to liability for schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modelling asymmetry in the peripheral auditory system of the lizard

The ears of lizards are highly directional. The directionality is generated by strong acoustical coupling of the eardrums. A simple lumped-parameter model of the ear followed by binaural comparisons has been shown to perform successful phonotaxis in robot implementations. However, such a model will produce localization errors in the form of response bias if the ears are asymmetrical. We have evaluated how large errors are generated by asymmetry using simulations of the ear model in Mathematica 5.2. The study shows that the effect of asymmetry is minimal around the most directional frequency of the ear, but that biases reduce the useful bandwidth of localization. This work was presented in part at the First European Workshop on Artificial Life and Robotics, Vienna, Austria, July 12–13, 2007     

A customised approach to determining the geomorphic effectiveness of small flood events in a regulated river

The construction of dams significantly alters flow and sediment regimes with subsequent deleterious effects on the morphological and ecological character of rivers. Effective experimental floods can ameliorate the downstream geomorphic impacts of dams. The traditional view is that large floods are required to perform effective geomorphic work, and the geomorphic outcomes of small floods are often overlooked. Many river restoration frameworks do not consider small floods. Yet, there is evidence that the hydrological characteristics that ameliorate specific geomorphic impacts in a river are unique to each river, and a customised approach to setting the right mix of floods (including small experimental floods) is needed. In this study, we modify an existing flood effectiveness model developed for large floods, for determining the geomorphic effectiveness of small floods in a highly regulated Australian river. Two flood classes were added to the model (medium peak stream power and moderate total energy expenditure), and the flood power characteristics were rescaled to reflect the relative difference in the magnitude of the small floods and the magnitude of the geomorphic work performed. Using a step‐wise approach, this customised model determined the geomorphic effectiveness of small floods. The best flood for ameliorating the geomorphic impacts of flow regulation had medium to long duration (10 to 51 days), high peak unit stream power (77 to 123 Wm^?2) and moderate to large total energy expenditure (78,600 to 342,320 × 10³ J). This approach to determining flood effectiveness for small floods is applicable to other geomorphically impacted river channels downstream of dams and can be used to inform experimental flood releases for geomorphic outcomes.     

Aspects of linear estimation in H infinty

A recent but rapidly maturing field in the area of system identification has been that of 'estimation in H infinty'. Greatly influencing this work has been the phenomenon that no linear (in-the-data) algorithm exists which is 'robustly convergent'. This paper conducts a study of this issue by combining specific new analysis together with existing results from the mathematics literature on the topic of polynomial approximation theory. Particular attention is paid to the role of model order, and this leads to the consideration of model order selection from a deterministic worst-case perspective.     

Millimeter wave backscatter measurements in support of collision avoidance applications

Millimeter-wave short range radar systems have unique advantages in surface navigation applications, such as military vehicle mobility, aircraft landing assistance, and automotive collision avoidance. In collision avoidance applications, characterization of clutter due to terrain and roadside objects is necessary in order to maximize the signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) and to minimize false alarms. The results of two types of radar cross section (RCS) measurements at 95 GHz are reported in this paper. The first set of measurements presents data on the normalized RCS (NRCS) as well as clutter distributions of various terrain types at low grazing angles of 5° and 7.5°. The second set of measurements presents RCS data and statistics on various types of roadside objects, such as metallic and wooden sign posts. These results are expected to be useful for designers of short-range millimeter-wave collision avoidance radar systems.     

A simulation study of long throw sputtering for diffusion barrierdeposition into high aspect vias and contacts

Modified sputtering techniques, such as long throw sputtering, collimation, and ionized sputtering, have been proposed to improve VLSI topography bottom coverage by narrowing the angular distribution of the sputter flux at the substrate and reducing subsequent flux shadowing at the bottom of topography. This paper first investigates a number of unique aspects involved in the simulation of long throw sputter systems. In particular, time importance of inhomogeneous film density and nonunity sticking coefficients are addressed. The second part of the paper presents a simulation study of long throw sputtering, providing a comparison to collimated and standard sputtering systems. The simulations are performed using the SIMSPUD/SIMBAD ballistic deposition tool. SIMSPUD is used to study film uniformity over a 300-mm wafer and to generate angular distributions at the center and edge of the wafer. The ability of SIMBAD to simulate directed sputtering systems is verified by direct comparison to Ti films deposited into oxide trenches. The importance of modeling the film microstructure is demonstrated by comparison between cross-sectional SEM's micrograph for evaporation and modeling results, such as long throw sputtering with a variety of substrate/target spacings, typical “standard” as well as “collimated” systems. SEM's of overhang structures and simulations are also presented to demonstrate nonunity sticking during the co-sputtering of TiW     

Immunological characterisation of barley polypeptides in lager foam

Eight monoclonal antibodies (mAb) recognising barley polypeptides have been identified from a library developed to wheat prolamins. The specificity or the mAb has been determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting. Six were of broad specificity, recognising D, B, C and γ-hordeins to varying degrees by both techniques. IFRN 0610 preferentially recognised γ-hordeins by ELISA but was highly specific for this hordein group by immunoblotting. Another mAb, IFRN 0624, bound to a M_r ∽ 18000 polypeptide belonging to the CM protein (trypsin/α-amylase inhibitor) family by immunoblotting. This, or a related protein, was detected by 0624 in all hordein fractions using ELISA. These mAb, together with two others described previously and found to recognise the repeat motif of C hordein, were used in ELISA and immunoblot analysis of Octyl-Sepharose fractions of lager foam. Hordein polypeptides were found in all foam fractions, indicating that much foam protein originates from the malt. The CM-like protein was found present in a virtually unmodified form. In contrast, the repeat motif of C hordein was not detected, indicating that it had either been destroyed or masked by other beer constituents. The foam stabilising agent, propylene glycol alginate (PGA), increased the apparent hydrophobicity of hordein fragments suggesting that at least part of the activity of PGA is mediated by interactions with the hordein components of foam.     

Core–Shell Nanoparticle Interface and Wetting Properties

Latex colloids are among the most promising materials for broad thin film applications due to their facile surface functionalization. Yet, the effect of these colloids on chemical film and wetting properties cannot be easily evaluated. At the nanoscale, core–shell particles can deform and coalesce during thermal annealing, yielding fine‐tuned physical properties. Two different core–shell systems (soft and rigid) with identical shells but with chemically different core polymers and core sizes are investigated. The core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) are probed during thermal annealing in order to investigate their behavior as a function of nanostructure size and rigidity. X‐ray scattering allows to follow the re‐arrangement of the NPs and the structural evolution in situ during annealing. Evaluation by real‐space imaging techniques reveals a disappearance of the structural integrity and a loss of NP boundaries. The possibility to fine‐tune the wettability by tuning the core–shell NPs morphology in thin films provides a facile template methodology for repellent surfaces.     

Schemes for the identification of tissue types and boundaries atthe tool point for surgical needles

Precise control of automated invasive surgical tools requires real-time identification of tissue types and their deformation. At the focus of this paper is the epidural puncture, for which it is shown that the tissue type and deformation can respectively be determined from laser-based spectroscopy and the change in force required to push the needle through the various tissues. Studies have shown that physiological variations from one patient to another are too great to allow absolute values to be reliably used to indicate the position of the needle tip. However, the pattern of force variation during penetration is shown to be similar between specimens. Interpretation of this information in conjunction with spectroscopic techniques can be used to discriminate between tissues and tissue structure at the needle tip. This paper describes results from an investigation on automatic techniques for interpreting the type and deformation of tissues under tool action     

使用基于模型的设计进行虚拟测试

本文分析了系统设计中常用的末期测试可能造成的成本及设计周期的增加,进而提出了基于模型的设计方法,通过在系统设计中并行进行虚拟测试,大大缩短设计周期,降低设计成本.