scholarly journals To draw or not to draw: understanding the temporal organization of drawing behaviour using fractal analyses

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Beltzung ◽  
Lison Martinet ◽  
Andrew MacIntosh ◽  
Xavier Meyer ◽  
Jerome Hosselet ◽  
...  

Studies on drawing often focused on spatial aspects of the finished products. Here, the drawing behaviour was studied by analysing its intermittent process, between drawing (i.e. marking a surface) and interruption (i.e. a pause in the marking gesture). To assess how this intermittence develops with age, we collected finger-drawings on a touchscreen by 185 individuals (children and adults). We measured the temporal structure of each drawing sequence to determine its complexity. To do this, we applied temporal fractal estimators to each drawing time series before combining them in a Principal Component Analysis procedure. The youngest children (3 years-old) drew in a more stereotypical way with long-range dependence detected in their alternations between states. Among older children and adults, the complexity of drawing sequences increased showing a less predictable behaviour as their drawings become more detailed and figurative. This study improves our understanding of the temporal aspects of drawing behaviour, and contributes to an objective understanding of its ontogeny.

1999 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Lücking

AbstractA community ecology approach using an association of species test and a principal component analysis resulted in the recognition of two major and two minor foliicolous lichen communities in a neotropical rainforest. The major communities arc governed by microclimatic factors, one characteristic of the shady understorcy and the other confined to light gaps. The minor communities are due to subtle phorophyte preferences towards palm and dicot leaves. The shady understorey community is dominated by the families Anhoniaceae, Opegraphaceae, Tnchoihdiaceae and Pilocarpaceae, which predominantly have Phycepeltis as their phycobiont, thin thalli, abundant sexual reproduction, small ascospores produced in high numbers, and pyenidial conidiomata. The light-gap community is mainly composed of the families Gomphillaceae and Ectolechiaceae, with Trebouxia as their phycobiont, thickly crystalline or whitish, dispersed thalli, frequent asexual reproduction, large ascospores produced in low numbers, and specialized campylidia and hyphophores as conidiomata. Phycobiont, thallus structure, and the mode of reproduction are considered as adaptations to different microsites, whereas the shape and size of ascospores and conidia seem to be of less importance. The foliicolous lichen communities reflect the spatial and temporal structure of the forest, in particular the continuity of the shady understorey in comparison to the discontinuity of the light gaps. While the formation of the shady understorey community follows more deterministic patterns, the light-gap community exhibits high stochasticity.


Author(s):  
Brian Cross

A relatively new entry, in the field of microscopy, is the Scanning X-Ray Fluorescence Microscope (SXRFM). Using this type of instrument (e.g. Kevex Omicron X-ray Microprobe), one can obtain multiple elemental x-ray images, from the analysis of materials which show heterogeneity. The SXRFM obtains images by collimating an x-ray beam (e.g. 100 μm diameter), and then scanning the sample with a high-speed x-y stage. To speed up the image acquisition, data is acquired "on-the-fly" by slew-scanning the stage along the x-axis, like a TV or SEM scan. To reduce the overhead from "fly-back," the images can be acquired by bi-directional scanning of the x-axis. This results in very little overhead with the re-positioning of the sample stage. The image acquisition rate is dominated by the x-ray acquisition rate. Therefore, the total x-ray image acquisition rate, using the SXRFM, is very comparable to an SEM. Although the x-ray spatial resolution of the SXRFM is worse than an SEM (say 100 vs. 2 μm), there are several other advantages.


VASA ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 333-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirchberger ◽  
Finger ◽  
Müller-Bühl

Background: The Intermittent Claudication Questionnaire (ICQ) is a short questionnaire for the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with intermittent claudication (IC). The objective of this study was to translate the ICQ into German and to investigate the psychometric properties of the German ICQ version in patients with IC. Patients and methods: The original English version was translated using a forward-backward method. The resulting German version was reviewed by the author of the original version and an experienced clinician. Finally, it was tested for clarity with 5 German patients with IC. A sample of 81 patients were administered the German ICQ. The sample consisted of 58.0 % male patients with a median age of 71 years and a median IC duration of 36 months. Test of feasibility included completeness of questionnaires, completion time, and ratings of clarity, length and relevance. Reliability was assessed through a retest in 13 patients at 14 days, and analysis of Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency. Construct validity was investigated using principal component analysis. Concurrent validity was assessed by correlating the ICQ scores with the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) as well as clinical measures. Results: The ICQ was completely filled in by 73 subjects (90.1 %) with an average completion time of 6.3 minutes. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient reached 0.75. Intra-class correlation for test-retest reliability was r = 0.88. Principal component analysis resulted in a 3 factor solution. The first factor explained 51.5 of the total variation and all items had loadings of at least 0.65 on it. The ICQ was significantly associated with the SF-36 and treadmill-walking distances whereas no association was found for resting ABPI. Conclusions: The German version of the ICQ demonstrated good feasibility, satisfactory reliability and good validity. Responsiveness should be investigated in further validation studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 676-681
Author(s):  
V.V. Sapozhnikova ◽  
◽  
A.L. Bondarenko ◽  

Aim: to determine the association between clinical laboratory parameters, the production of cytokines (IL-17A, -23, -33, -35), and specific IgM and IgG in the serum of patients with Lyme borreliosis without erythema migrans. Patients and Methods: complete blood count, the concentrations of IL-17A, -23, -33, -35, and the levels of specific IgM and IgG were measured during acute infection and convalescence (n=30). The control group included age- and sex-matched healthy individuals (n=30). Statistical analysis was performed using the StatSoft Statistica v 10.0 software (parametric and non-parametric methods and multifactorial analysis, i.e., principal component analysis). Results: most (80%) patients with Lyme borreliosis without erythema migrans are the people of working age. In most patients, the combination of the specific antibodies against Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii (76.7%) and severe intoxication and inflammatory process (100%) were detected. Moderate and severe disease associated with meningism was diagnosed in 90% and 10%, respectively. The mean duration of hectic period was 8.3±1.27 days. Abnormal ECG was reported in 40% of patients, i.e., conduction abnormalities in 20%, sinus bradycardia in 16.7%,and sinus tachycardia in 3.3%. The clinical laboratory signs of hepatitis without jaundice were identified in 26.7%. During treatment, the significant reduction in band and segmented neutrophil counts as well as the significant increase in platelet count were revealed compared to these parameters at admission. Abnormal cytokine levels (i.e., the increase in IL-17A, -23, -33 and the deficiency of IL-35) were detected. Conclusions: multifactorial analysis has demonstrated that the severity of immunological abnormalities in patients with Lyme borreliosis without erythema migrans is associated with fever, cardiac and liver disorders, the high levels of IL-23 and IL-33, and the lack of IL-35 and specific IgM and IgG. KEYWORDS: tick-borne borreliosis, Lyme disease without erythema migrans, clinical laboratory signs, cytokines, specific antibodies, multifactorial analysis, principal component analysis. FOR CITATION: Sapozhnikova V.V., Bondarenko A.L. Multifactorial analysis of clinical laboratory signs, the levels of IL-17A, IL-23, IL-33, IL-35, and specific antibodies in the serum of patients with Lyme borreliosis without erythema migrans. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2020;4(11):676–681. DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2020-4-11-676-681.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 715-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephany C. de Rezende ◽  
Jo鉶 A. Pinto ◽  
Isabel P. Fernandes ◽  
Fernanda V. Leimann and Maria-Filomena Barreiro

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