Single-Trial MEG Data Can Be Denoised Through Cross-Subject Predictive Modeling

A pervasive challenge in brain imaging is the presence of noise that hinders investigation of underlying neural processes, with Magnetoencephalography (MEG) in particular having very low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). The established strategy to increase MEG's SNR involves averaging multiple repetitions of data corresponding to the same stimulus. However, repetition of stimulus can be undesirable, because underlying neural activity has been shown to change across trials, and repeating stimuli limits the breadth of the stimulus space experienced by subjects. In particular, the rising popularity of naturalistic studies with a single viewing of a movie or story necessitates the discovery of new approaches to increase SNR. We introduce a simple framework to reduce noise in single-trial MEG data by leveraging correlations in neural responses across subjects as they experience the same stimulus. We demonstrate its use in a naturalistic reading comprehension task with 8 subjects, with MEG data collected while they read the same story a single time. We find that our procedure results in data with reduced noise and allows for better discovery of neural phenomena. As proof-of-concept, we show that the N400m's correlation with word surprisal, an established finding in literature, is far more clearly observed in the denoised data than the original data. The denoised data also shows higher decoding and encoding accuracy than the original data, indicating that the neural signals associated with reading are either preserved or enhanced after the denoising procedure.

Measuring 3D orientation of nanocrystals via polarized luminescence of rare-earth dopants

Orientation of nanoscale objects can be measured by examining the polarized emission of optical probes. To retrieve a three-dimensional (3D) orientation, it has been essential to observe the probe (a dipole) along multiple viewing angles and scan with a rotating analyzer. However, this method requires a sophisticated optical setup and is subject to various external sources of error. Here, we present a fundamentally different approach employing coupled multiple emission dipoles that are inherent in lanthanide-doped phosphors. Simultaneous observation of different dipoles and comparison of their relative intensities allow to determine the 3D orientation from a single viewing angle. Moreover, the distinct natures of electric and magnetic dipoles originating in lanthanide luminescence enable an instant orientation analysis with a single-shot emission spectrum. We demonstrate a straightforward orientation analysis of Eu3+-doped NaYF4 nanocrystals using a conventional fluorescence microscope. Direct imaging of the rod-shaped nanocrystals proved the high accuracy of the measurement. This methodology would provide insights into the mechanical behaviors of various nano- and biomolecular systems.

INCIDENTAL ACQUISITION OF MULTIWORD EXPRESSIONS THROUGH AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS

There has been limited research on the efficacy of captioned second language (L2) television in facilitating the incidental acquisition of multiword expressions (MWEs). The present study aims to fill this gap. Additionally, this study examines the role of typographic enhancement and repetition. One-hundred and twenty-two L2 learners were assigned to one of six conditions that differed in terms of caption condition (no captions, normal captions, enhanced captions) and the number of times they watched the same video (once, twice). The participants took a cued MWE form recall test before watching the video, immediately and 2 weeks after watching it. A content comprehension test was also administered. Compared to single viewing, repetition resulted in better content comprehension as well as better acquisition of MWEs. Both caption types positively influenced MWE recall relative to watching the video without captions, but typographic enhancement reduced the benefits of captions for content comprehension.

INTERNATIONAL TCHAIKOVSKY COMPETITION AS A PHENOMENON OF WEBCAST

The International Tchaikovsky Competition has been held for sixty years and has become a tradition with an intention to renew itself. An essential aspect of this is the webcast, which, being performed at the highest level, not only develops the established democratic orientation of this competition, but makes the competition a relatively independent artistic event. The empirical base of the research is Internet broadcasting of XV and XVI competitions. Method – a comparative analysis, performed in the context of cultural knowledge. The article analyzes the features of the modern Internet broadcast of the competition, which distinguish it from previous TV and Internet broadcasts. The specific difficulties of shooting musical events related to their duration and the static of what is happening, as well as the resources that were used by the director and operators of "Medici.tv" in the creative solution of these problems, were understood. It is shown that the perception of the online broadcast of the competition is not inferior in terms of artistic criteria to the impression that the listener who attends the concert receives, but this is a different impression, not canceling, but supplementing the traditional one. On this basis, the conclusion is formed that the Internet broadcasting enriches the artistic culture. It provides the audience with new opportunities for creative perception of an artistic work. In addition, the webcast allows the art critic to carry out research on the phenomena of the performing arts at a fundamentally different level, to increase the degree of reliability of the knowledge gained. Previously, the theory of performing arts relied on an unreliable empirical research base: a single viewing and listening to a concert version of a work and memories of it. Webcasting allows multiple viewing and listening, verification of the findings, including through the use of computer programs, which allows one to overcome the degree of subjectivity that is unacceptable for science, which is inevitably present in art criticism, based on the empirical experience of a researcher attending a concert, protects against the accidents of perception that lie in wait for the listener in the concert hall. And the theory of performance objectively becomes on a par with other branches of art history - the theory of painting, architecture, musicology, studying musical notation, etc. The webcast changed the status of the Tchaikovsky Competition. Initially, in 1958, it was conceived and implemented as, first of all, a socio-political event, marking the beginning of the period of the "policy of openness" pursued by the leadership of our country. Thanks to the webcast, the competition has become a completely self-sufficient event - it exists as a “piece of art”, which you can which can be enjoyed again and again, just as we re-read works of classical literature over and over again.

Research on q-p-shaped elevated traffic system in wetland and forest parks

Ecological protection is the basis of the construction of wetland and forest parks and therefore any development and utilization should take it as the premise. The traffic system planning and positioning of wetland and forest parks should also follow this principle. The establishment of the q-p-shaped elevated traffic system equipped with ring elevated passage and local installation of ground and over-ground viewing platforms in whole park can achieve the diversion of commuter cars, bicycles and walking tourists which is conducive to solving the problems of patch fragmentation, human activities interference and single viewing form in wetland construction. In this paper, the ways of creating q-p-shaped elevated traffic system is introduced in detail and this study can provide reference for the planning and design of wetland and forest parks.

Optimal Estimation Retrieval of Aerosol Fine-Mode Fraction from Ground-Based Sky Light Measurements

In this paper, the feasibility of retrieving the aerosol fine-mode fraction (FMF) from ground-based sky light measurements is investigated. An inversion algorithm, based on the optimal estimation (OE) theory, is presented to retrieve FMF from single-viewing multi-spectral radiance measurements and to evaluate the impact of utilization of near-infrared (NIR) measurements at a wavelength of 1610 nm in aerosol remote sensing. Self-consistency tests based on synthetic data produced a mean relative retrieval error of 4.5%, which represented the good performance of the OE inversion algorithm. The proposed algorithm was also performed on real data taken from field experiments in Beijing during a haze pollution event. The correlation coefficients (R) for the retrieved aerosol volume fine-mode fraction (FMFv) and optical fine-mode fraction (FMFo) against AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) products were 0.94 and 0.95 respectively, and the mean residual error was 4.95%. Consequently, the inversion of FMFv and FMFo could be well constrained by single-viewing multi-spectral radiance measurement. In addition, by introducing measurements of 1610 nm wavelength into the retrieval, the validation results showed a significant improvement in the R value for FMFo (from 0.89–0.94). These results confirm the high value of NIR measurements for the retrieval of coarse mode aerosols.

RETRIEVAL OF AEROSOL MICROPHYSICAL PROPERTIES BASED ON THE OPTIMAL ESTIMATION METHOD: INFORMATION CONTENT ANALYSIS FOR SATELLITE POLARIMETRIC REMOTE SENSING MEASUREMENTS

This paper evaluates the information content for the retrieval of key aerosol microphysical and surface properties for multispectral single-viewing satellite polarimetric measurements cantered at 410, 443, 555, 670, 865, 1610 and 2250 nm over bright land. To conduct the information content analysis, the synthetic data are simulated by the Unified Linearized Vector Radiative Transfer Model (UNLVTM) with the intensity and polarization together over bare soil surface for various scenarios. Following the optimal estimation theory, a principal component analysis method is employed to reconstruct the multispectral surface reflectance from 410 nm to 2250 nm, and then integrated with a linear one-parametric BPDF model to represent the contribution of polarized surface reflectance, thus further to decouple the surface-atmosphere contribution from the TOA measurements. Focusing on two different aerosol models with the aerosol optical depth equal to 0.8 at 550 nm, the total DFS and DFS component of each retrieval aerosol and surface parameter are analysed. The DFS results show that the key aerosol microphysical properties, such as the fine- and coarse-mode columnar volume concentration, the effective radius and the real part of complex refractive index at 550 nm, could be well retrieved with the surface parameters simultaneously over bare soil surface type. The findings of this study can provide the guidance to the inversion algorithm development over bright surface land by taking full use of the single-viewing satellite polarimetric measurements.