scholarly journals Computational-Observer Analysis of Illumination Discrimination

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomao Ding ◽  
Ana Radonjić ◽  
Nicolas P. Cottaris ◽  
Haomiao Jiang ◽  
Brian A. Wandell ◽  
...  

AbstractThe spectral properties of the ambient illumination provide useful information about time of day and weather. We study the perceptual representation of illumination by analyzing measurements of how well people discriminate between illuminations across scene configurations. More specifically, we compare human performance to a computational-observer analysis that evaluates the information available in the isomerizations of the cones in a model human photoreceptor mosaic. Some patterns of human performance are predicted by the computational observer, other aspects are not. The analysis clarifies which aspects of performance require additional explanation in terms of the action of visual mechanisms beyond the isomerization of light by the cones.

Author(s):  
Hilary Lam ◽  
Sayf Gani ◽  
Randy Mawson ◽  
Jason Young ◽  
Erin Potma

Nighttime visibility is an important consideration in collision reconstruction and personal injury investigation. Decreased contrast in low ambient lighting conditions can greatly affect human perception and response. Because ambient lighting levels change rapidly at dawn and dusk, forensic investigators must have an accurate knowledge of the time of day and the cloud conditions at the time of the incident before initiating a nighttime visibility assessment. Previously, human factors experts attempting re-enactments at dawn or dusk have had to wait for sky conditions that match those at the time of the incident, making the investigation of those cases extremely difficult, if not unfeasible. In this study, an ambient illumination equivalency tool has been developed based on a database of time-lapse light meter readings collected by the authors. This new tool can be used to facilitate nighttime visibility assessments on any day by providing a time adjustment factor to account for the changes in ambient illuminance due to differences in the cloud conditions between the day of the incident and the day of the re-enactment.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Fafrowicz ◽  
Bartosz Bohaterewicz ◽  
Anna Ceglarek ◽  
Monika Cichocka ◽  
Koryna Lewandowska ◽  
...  

Human performance, alertness, and most biological functions express rhythmic fluctuations across a 24-hour-period. This phenomenon is believed to originate from differences in both circadian and homeostatic sleep-wake regulatory processes. Interactions between these processes result in time-of-day modulations of behavioral performance as well as brain activity patterns. Although the basic mechanism of the 24-hour clock is conserved across evolution, there are interindividual differences in the timing of sleep-wake cycles, subjective alertness and functioning throughout the day. The study of circadian typology differences has increased during the last few years, especially research on extreme chronotypes, which provide a unique way to investigate the effects of sleep-wake regulation on cerebral mechanisms. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we assessed the influence of chronotype and time-of-day on resting-state functional connectivity. 29 extreme morning- and 34 evening-type participants underwent two fMRI sessions: about one hour after wake-up time (morning) and about ten hours after wake-up time (evening), scheduled according to their declared habitual sleep-wake pattern on a regular working day. Analysis of obtained neuroimaging data disclosed only an effect of time of day on resting-state functional connectivity; there were different patterns of functional connectivity between morning and evening sessions. The results of our study showed no differences between extreme morning-type and evening-type individuals. We demonstrate that circadian and homeostatic influences on the resting-state functional connectivity have a universal character, unaffected by circadian typology.


2004 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Paz Loayza Hidalgo ◽  
Camila Bressan Zanette ◽  
Michell Pedrotti ◽  
Camila Morelatto Souza ◽  
Paula Vianna Nunes ◽  
...  

Memory consists of several phases or processes that can be influenced by many factors, including the individual's circadian rhythm and the time of day at which tests are performed. The present objective was to evaluate the performance on memory tests of different chronotypes during the morning and the evening shifts. Subjects (21 men and 26 women, between the ages of 20 and 35 yr.) were evaluated for memory and metamemory differences in the morning and in the afternoon, using a battery of neuropsychological tests composed of the Word List with Emotional Content, Visual Memory, Scale–Semantic Memory, Digit Span, Word-Pairs Associated, Verbal Fluency Test, and Metamemory questionnaire. In the evening shift, there was a statistical difference among chronotypes on the Word List with Neutral Content and on the Verbal Fluency Test. In the morning, there were no statistically significant differences; however, the morning-type subjects had higher scores on the metamemory tests ( p < .01), while the evening-type subjects had higher scores in the afternoon ( p < .01). In spite of their perception, on Word-Pairs Associated and Word List with Emotional Content, the subjects, independently of their chronotype, showed better performance by the evening than by the morning shift. These results highlight the importance of controlling the shift of day and chronotype in studies with the objective of exploration of human performance.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258135
Author(s):  
Adriana M. Coletta ◽  
Mary C. Playdon ◽  
Kelly G. Baron ◽  
Mei Wei ◽  
Kristen Kelley ◽  
...  

Objective To assess the relationship between time-of-day of exercise training and changes in relevant cancer health outcomes among cancer survivors. Methods Retrospective analysis of data collected from 2016–2019 from a hospital-based exercise oncology program. Descriptive statistics were calculated for demographic, clinical, and exercise timing characteristics (e.g. AM, PM, or mix) among survivors with available data for exercise training time (n = 233). For the total sample and a breast cancer sub-analysis, univariate analysis of covariance, adjusted for age, was carried out by exercise training time, for change in the following outcomes collected during the program’s assessment sessions: cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular endurance (human performance variables), physical function, anthropometrics, self-reported fatigue, and quality of life (QoL). Change in body mass index (BMI) and body weight was included in the breast cancer analysis. Results Overall, 37.3% of survivors habitually engaged in AM exercise (e.g. ≥ 75% AM training), 34.3% in PM exercise, and 28.3% in a mix of AM and PM exercise training throughout the program. Median time in the program was 17 weeks. Significant improvements in most human performance and physical function variables were observed in the total sample regardless of exercise training time-of-day. Among breast cancer survivors, PM but not AM or mixed was associated with improvements in fitness, and lower-body muscular endurance and function. Mixed exercise timing was linked with greater increase in waist circumference (total sample: 3.02cm, 95%CI 1.55, 4.49; breast cancer: 3.57cm 95%CI 0.96, 6.18), body weight (breast cancer: 1.6kg, 95%CI 0.3, 2.8) and BMI (breast cancer: 0.6kg/m2, 95%CI 0.1, 1.0). AM and PM exercise, but not mixed, was associated with improvements in fatigue and QoL. Conclusion Time-of-day of exercise training may differentially impact changes in human performance and physical function variables. Mixed exercise training time may result in less favorable outcomes related of weight management variables among cancer survivors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Marcel Hess ◽  
Christian Wöhler ◽  
Alexey A. Berezhnoy ◽  
Janice L. Bishop ◽  
Vladislav V. Shevchenko

We investigate the interrelation between the hydration of the lunar regolith and the mineral composition of the surface of the Moon with respect to the concentrations of plagioclase, TiO2 (highly correlated with the oxide mineral ilmenite), and Mg-spinel. The spectral properties of lunar regions with a low concentration of plagioclase or a high concentration of TiO2 or Mg-spinel show a significant reduction in hydration at lunar midday compared to other compositions. This suggests that these oxide minerals contain less of the strongly bound OH component, which is not removed at lunar midday. The time-of-day-dependent variation of the 3 μm band depth is greater in TiO2-rich areas compared to other mare regions. The TiO2-rich regions therefore appear to have a strong tendency to adsorb solar wind-induced hydrogen into binding states of low energy that can more readily desorb and readsorb OH/H2O on a daily basis.


2008 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 11-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Beneke ◽  
Dieter Böning

Human performance, defined by mechanical resistance and distance per time, includes human, task and environmental factors, all interrelated. It requires metabolic energy provided by anaerobic and aerobic metabolic energy sources. These sources have specific limitations in the capacity and rate to provide re-phosphorylation energy, which determines individual ratios of aerobic and anaerobic metabolic power and their sustainability. In healthy athletes, limits to provide and utilize metabolic energy are multifactorial, carefully matched and include a safety margin imposed in order to protect the integrity of the human organism under maximal effort. Perception of afferent input associated with effort leads to conscious or unconscious decisions to modulate or terminate performance; however, the underlying mechanisms of cerebral control are not fully understood. The idea to move borders of performance with the help of biochemicals is two millennia old. Biochemical findings resulted in highly effective substances widely used to increase performance in daily life, during preparation for sport events and during competition, but many of them must be considered as doping and therefore illegal. Supplements and food have ergogenic potential; however, numerous concepts are controversially discussed with respect to legality and particularly evidence in terms of usefulness and risks. The effect of evidence-based nutritional strategies on adaptations in terms of gene and protein expression that occur in skeletal muscle during and after exercise training sessions is widely unknown. Biochemical research is essential for better understanding of the basic mechanisms causing fatigue and the regulation of the dynamic adaptation to physical and mental training.


2004 ◽  
Vol 171 (4S) ◽  
pp. 496-497
Author(s):  
Edward D. Matsumoto ◽  
George V. Kondraske ◽  
Lucas Jacomides ◽  
Kenneth Ogan ◽  
Margaret S. Pearle ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
William S. Helton ◽  
Katharina Näswall

Conscious appraisals of stress, or stress states, are an important aspect of human performance. This article presents evidence supporting the validity and measurement characteristics of a short multidimensional self-report measure of stress state, the Short Stress State Questionnaire (SSSQ; Helton, 2004 ). The SSSQ measures task engagement, distress, and worry. A confirmatory factor analysis of the SSSQ using data pooled from multiple samples suggests the SSSQ does have a three factor structure and post-task changes are not due to changes in factor structure, but to mean level changes (state changes). In addition, the SSSQ demonstrates sensitivity to task stressors in line with hypotheses. Different task conditions elicited unique patterns of stress state on the three factors of the SSSQ in line with prior predictions. The 24-item SSSQ is a valid measure of stress state which may be useful to researchers interested in conscious appraisals of task-related stress.


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