A multilayered self-organizing artificial neural network forinvariant pattern recognition

An artificial neural network that self-organizes to recognize various images presented as a training set is described. One application of the network uses multiple functionally disjoint stages to provide pattern recognition that is invariant to translations of the object in the image plane. The general form of the network uses three stages that perform the functionally disjoint tasks of preprocessing, invariance, and recognition. The preprocessing stage is a single layer of processing elements that performs dynamic thresholding and intensity scaling. The invariance stage is a multilayered connectionist implementation of a modified Walsh-Hadamard transform used for generating an invariant representation of the image. The recognition stage is a multilayered self-organizing neural network that learns to recognize the representation of the input image generated by the invariance stage. The network can successfully self-organize to recognize objects without regard to the location of the object in the image field and has some resistance to noise and distortions     

An Electromotive Force Series in a Borosilicate Glass-Forming Melt

An electromotive force series for redox couples was defined as a function of oxygen fugacity in a borosilicate melt at 1150°C. The resulting order of relative reduction potentials can be used to estimate the amounts of redox species in glass during processing. The electromotive force series in this melt is comparable to those in other silicate glassforming melts and in aqueous systems but differs in detail because of interaction of the solvents with individual redox couples.     

Effects of an intensive depression-focused intervention for smoking cessation in pregnancy.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate a depression-focused treatment for smoking cessation in pregnant women versus a time and contact health education control. We hypothesized that the depression-focused treatment would lead to improved abstinence and reduced depressive symptoms among women with high levels of depressive symptomatology. No significant main effects of treatment were hypothesized. Method: Pregnant smokers (N = 257) were randomly assigned to a 10-week, intensive, depression-focused intervention (cognitive behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy; CBASP) or to a time and contact control focused on health and wellness (HW); both included equivalent amounts of behavioral and motivational smoking cessation counseling. Of the sample, 54% were African American, and 37% met criteria for major depression. Mean age was 25 years (SD = 5.9), and women averaged 19.5 weeks (SD = 8.5) gestation at study entry. We measured symptoms of depression using the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977). Results: At 6 months posttreatment, women with higher levels of baseline depressive symptoms treated with CBASP were abstinent significantly more often, F(1, 253) = 5.61, p = .02, and had less depression, F(1, 2620) = 10.49, p = .001, than those treated with HW; those with low baseline depression fared better in HW. Differences in abstinence were not retained at 6 months postpartum. Conclusions: The results suggest that pregnant women with high levels of depressive symptoms may benefit from a depression-focused treatment in terms of improved abstinence and depressive symptoms, both of which could have a combined positive effect on maternal and child health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multimodal approach to assessing the impact of nicotine dependence, nicotine abstinence, and craving on negative affect in smokers.

We used multimodal measurement to evaluate whether (a) nicotine dependence is associated with baseline and postquit negative affect and craving, (b) smoking relapse is associated with greater negative affect and craving than abstinence, and (c) craving is associated with negative affect. Treatment-seeking smokers were randomly assigned to either a brief behaviorally based smoking-cessation treatment condition or to a delayed treatment control condition. Participants in the treatment condition attended four assessment sessions, 4–5 days prequit (baseline), 1–2 days postquit, 3–5 days postquit, and 10–14 days postquit, while controls attended four sessions spaced over the same intervals. Retrospective questionnaires were collected at the beginning of each session, and corrugator EMG and in-session ratings were collected during viewing of affective and cigarette-related slides. The multimodal measures indicated that more dependent smokers experienced greater negative affect and craving at baseline and postquit, regardless of abstinence status. The self-report measures indicated that both relapsed and abstinent smokers reported greater negative affect and craving than control smokers. Craving was associated with negative affect across measurement modalities. These results highlight the benefits of using multimodal measures to study the impact of nicotine dependence and withdrawal on negative affect and craving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)