Viscoelastic Analysis of Flexible Pavements and Its Effects on Top-Down Cracking

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 324-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaeseung Kim ◽  
Reynaldo Roque ◽  
Thomas Byron
2019 ◽  
Vol 271 ◽  
pp. 08004
Author(s):  
Nirmal Dhakal ◽  
Mohammad Bashar ◽  
Mostafa Elseifi

The objective of this study was to establish guidelines to identify top-down cracking (TDC) in flexible pavements using digital image analysis and the characteristics of these cracks. Past studies indicated that the time after construction of the pavement and location of the cracks are key parameters to identify top-down cracking. The cracks were reported to appear on the wheel path or at the outer edge of the wheel path typically within 3 to 8 years of construction. In-service pavement sections were selected for analysis based on the parameters identified from the literature and computer-vision techniques were employed to investigate the geometric characteristics of these cracks. Based on the results of the analysis, the average crack width was observed to be 3 to 7 mm. With respect to the orientation of the crack, the cracks segments were mostly longitudinal with typical deviation of 20 degrees. The orientation and intensity characteristics of top-down cracks were found as useful features in crack identification.


2004 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred W. Mast ◽  
Charles M. Oman

The role of top-down processing on the horizontal-vertical line length illusion was examined by means of an ambiguous room with dual visual verticals. In one of the test conditions, the subjects were cued to one of the two verticals and were instructed to cognitively reassign the apparent vertical to the cued orientation. When they have mentally adjusted their perception, two lines in a plus sign configuration appeared and the subjects had to evaluate which line was longer. The results showed that the line length appeared longer when it was aligned with the direction of the vertical currently perceived by the subject. This study provides a demonstration that top-down processing influences lower level visual processing mechanisms. In another test condition, the subjects had all perceptual cues available and the influence was even stronger.


2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Sturm

Abstract: Behavioral and PET/fMRI-data are presented to delineate the functional networks subserving alertness, sustained attention, and vigilance as different aspects of attention intensity. The data suggest that a mostly right-hemisphere frontal, parietal, thalamic, and brainstem network plays an important role in the regulation of attention intensity, irrespective of stimulus modality. Under conditions of phasic alertness there is less right frontal activation reflecting a diminished need for top-down regulation with phasic extrinsic stimulation. Furthermore, a high overlap between the functional networks for alerting and spatial orienting of attention is demonstrated. These findings support the hypothesis of a co-activation of the posterior attention system involved in spatial orienting by the anterior alerting network. Possible implications of these findings for the therapy of neglect are proposed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Graf ◽  
Hartwig Kulke ◽  
Christa Sous-Kulke ◽  
Wilfried Schupp ◽  
Stefan Lautenbacher
Keyword(s):  

Aufmerksamkeit kann als Kontrollsystem neuronaler Aktivität verstanden werden, welches Neuroplastizität top-down modulieren hilft. Bisher wurde selten versucht, durch deren gezielte Förderung Funktionswiederherstellungen nach Hirnschädigung zu begünstigen. In vorliegender Studie wurde dies am Beispiel der Aphasie erprobt. 15 Schlaganfallpatienten erhielten ein dreiwöchiges Training der selektiven Aufmerksamkeit mit den PC-Programmen CogniPlus und „Konzentration“ bei fünf Sitzungen pro Woche zusätzlich zur Standardtherapie, 13 weitere bildeten eine Kontrollgruppe ohne Aufmerksamkeitstraining. Zur Effektivitätskontrolle dienten zwei Versionen des Untertests Go/Nogo (Testbatterie zur Aufmerksamkeitsprüfung) und die Kurze Aphasieprüfung. Nach dem Training manifestierte sich zwischen den Untersuchungsgruppen kein Unterschied in Aufmerksamkeits- und Sprachfunktionen; das zusätzliche Aufmerksamkeitstraining war also wirkungslos. Allerdings zeigten Patienten mit deutlichen Aufmerksamkeitsverbesserungen tendenziell weniger Aphasie-Symptome, was die Hypothese aufmerksamkeitsvermittelter Plastizitätsmodulation nach Hirnschädigung partiell stützt.


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