scholarly journals Optimizing the use of a sensor resource for opponent polarization coding

Author(s):  
Francisco J. H. Heras ◽  
Simon B Laughlin

Flies use specialized photoreceptors R7 and R8 in the dorsal rim area (DRA) to detect skylight polarization. R7 and R8 form a tiered waveguide (rhabdom) with R7 on top, filtering light delivered to R8. We examine how the division of a given resource, rhabdom length, between R7 and R8 affects their ability to code polarization angle. We model optical absorption to show how the length fractions allotted to R7 and R8 determine the rates at which they transduce photons, and correct these rates for transduction unit saturation. The rates give polarization signal and photon noise in R7, and in R8. Their signals are combined in an opponent unit, intrinsic noise added, and the unit’s output analysed to extract two measures of coding ability, number of discriminable polarization angles and mutual information. A very long R7 maximizes opponent signal amplitude, but codes inefficiently due to photon noise in the very short R8. Discriminability and mutual information are optimized by maximizing signal to noise ratio, SNR. At lower light levels approximately equal lengths of R7 and R8 are optimal because photon noise dominates. At higher light levels intrinsic noise comes to dominate and a shorter R8 is optimum. The optimum R8 length fractions falls to one third. This intensity dependent range of optimal length fractions corresponds to the range observed in different fly species and is not affected by transduction unit saturation. We conclude that a limited resource, rhabdom length, can be divided between two polarization sensors, R7 and R8, to optimize opponent coding. We also find that coding ability increases sub-linearly with total rhabdom length, according to the law of diminishing returns. Consequently the specialized shorter central rhabdom in the DRA codes polarization twice as efficiently with respect to rhabdom length than the longer rhabdom used in the rest of the eye.

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e2772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J.H. Heras ◽  
Simon B. Laughlin

Flies use specialized photoreceptors R7 and R8 in the dorsal rim area (DRA) to detect skylight polarization. R7 and R8 form a tiered waveguide (central rhabdomere pair, CRP) with R7 on top, filtering light delivered to R8. We examine how the division of a given resource, CRP length, between R7 and R8 affects their ability to code polarization angle. We model optical absorption to show how the length fractions allotted to R7 and R8 determine the rates at which they transduce photons, and correct these rates for transduction unit saturation. The rates give polarization signal and photon noise in R7, and in R8. Their signals are combined in an opponent unit, intrinsic noise added, and the unit’s output analysed to extract two measures of coding ability, number of discriminable polarization angles and mutual information. A very long R7 maximizes opponent signal amplitude, but codes inefficiently due to photon noise in the very short R8. Discriminability and mutual information are optimized by maximizing signal to noise ratio, SNR. At lower light levels approximately equal lengths of R7 and R8 are optimal because photon noise dominates. At higher light levels intrinsic noise comes to dominate and a shorter R8 is optimum. The optimum R8 length fractions falls to one third. This intensity dependent range of optimal length fractions corresponds to the range observed in different fly species and is not affected by transduction unit saturation. We conclude that a limited resource, rhabdom length, can be divided between two polarization sensors, R7 and R8, to optimize opponent coding. We also find that coding ability increases sub-linearly with total rhabdom length, according to the law of diminishing returns. Consequently, the specialized shorter central rhabdom in the DRA codes polarization twice as efficiently with respect to rhabdom length than the longer rhabdom used in the rest of the eye.


Author(s):  
Francisco J. H. Heras ◽  
Simon B Laughlin

Flies use specialized photoreceptors R7 and R8 in the dorsal rim area (DRA) to detect skylight polarization. R7 and R8 form a tiered waveguide (rhabdom) with R7 on top, filtering light delivered to R8. We examine how the division of a given resource, rhabdom length, between R7 and R8 affects their ability to code polarization angle. We model optical absorption to show how the length fractions allotted to R7 and R8 determine the rates at which they transduce photons, and correct these rates for transduction unit saturation. The rates give polarization signal and photon noise in R7, and in R8. Their signals are combined in an opponent unit, intrinsic noise added, and the unit’s output analysed to extract two measures of coding ability, number of discriminable polarization angles and mutual information. A very long R7 maximizes opponent signal amplitude, but codes inefficiently due to photon noise in the very short R8. Discriminability and mutual information are optimized by maximizing signal to noise ratio, SNR. At lower light levels approximately equal lengths of R7 and R8 are optimal because photon noise dominates. At higher light levels intrinsic noise comes to dominate and a shorter R8 is optimum. The optimum R8 length fractions falls to one third. This intensity dependent range of optimal length fractions corresponds to the range observed in different fly species and is not affected by transduction unit saturation. We conclude that a limited resource, rhabdom length, can be divided between two polarization sensors, R7 and R8, to optimize opponent coding. We also find that coding ability increases sub-linearly with total rhabdom length, according to the law of diminishing returns. Consequently the specialized shorter central rhabdom in the DRA codes polarization twice as efficiently with respect to rhabdom length than the longer rhabdom used in the rest of the eye.


Author(s):  
H. Sun ◽  
Y. Ding ◽  
Y. Huang ◽  
G. Wang

Aerial Image records the large-range earth objects with the ever-improving spatial and radiometric resolution. It becomes a powerful tool for earth observation, land-coverage survey, geographical census, etc., and helps delineating the boundary of different kinds of objects on the earth both manually and automatically. In light of the geo-spatial correspondence between the pixel locations of aerial image and the spatial coordinates of ground objects, there is an increasing need of super-pixel segmentation and high-accuracy positioning of objects in aerial image. Besides the commercial software package of eCognition and ENVI, many algorithms have also been developed in the literature to segment objects of aerial images. But how to evaluate the segmentation results remains a challenge, especially in the context of the geo-spatial correspondence. The Geo-Hausdorff Distance (GHD) is proposed to measure the geo-spatial distance between the results of various object segmentation that can be done with the manual ground truth or with the automatic algorithms.Based on the early-breaking and random-sampling design, the GHD calculates the geographical Hausdorff distance with nearly-linear complexity. Segmentation results of several state-of-the-art algorithms, including those of the commercial packages, are evaluated with a diverse set of aerial images. They have different signal-to-noise ratio around the object boundaries and are hard to trace correctly even for human operators. The GHD value is analyzed to comprehensively measure the suitability of different object segmentation methods for aerial images of different spatial resolution. By critically assessing the strengths and limitations of the existing algorithms, the paper provides valuable insight and guideline for extensive research in automating object detection and classification of aerial image in the nation-wide geographic census. It is also promising for the optimal design of operational specification of remote sensing interpretation under the constraints of limited resource.


1996 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 2280-2293 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Wessel ◽  
C. Koch ◽  
F. Gabbiani

1. The coding of time-varying electric fields in the weakly electric fish, Eigenmannia, was investigated in a quantitative manner. The activity of single P-type electroreceptor afferents was recorded while the amplitude of an externally applied sinusoidal electric field was stochastically modulated. The amplitude modulation waveform (i.e., the stimulus) was reconstructed from the spike trains by mean square estimation. 2. From the stimulus and the reconstructions we calculated the following: 1) the signal-to-noise ratio and thus an effective temporal bandwidth of the units; 2) the coding fraction, i.e., a measure of the fraction of the time-varying stimulus encoded in single spike trains; and 3) the mutual information provided by the reconstructions about the stimulus. 3. Signal-to-noise ratios as high as 7:1 were observed and the bandwidth ranged from 0 up to 200 Hz, consistent with the limit imposed by the sampling theorem. Reducing the cutoff frequency of the stimulus increased the signal-to-noise ratio at low frequencies, indicating a nonlinearity in the receptors' response. 4. The coding fraction and the rate of mutual information transmission increased in parallel with the standard deviation (i.e., the contrast) of the stimulus as well as the mean firing rate of the units. Significant encoding occurred 20-40 Hz above the spontaneous discharge of a unit. 5. When the temporal cutoff frequency of the stimulus was increased between 80 and 400 Hz, 1) the coding fraction decreased, 2) the rate of mutual information transmission remained constant over the same frequency range, and 3) the reconstructed filter changed. This is in agreement with predictions obtained in a simplified neuronal model. 6. Our results suggest that 1) the information transmitted by single spike trains of primary electrosensory afferents to higherorder neurons in the fish brain depends on the contrast and the cutoff frequency of the stimulus as well as on the mean firing rate of the units; and 2) under optimal conditions, more than half of the information about a Gaussian stimulus that can in principle be encoded is carried in single spike trains of P-type afferents at rates up to 200 bits per second.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. e503-e507
Author(s):  
Gabriela Guenther Ribeiro Novanta ◽  
Sergio Luiz Garavelli ◽  
Andre Luiz Lopes Sampaio

Abstract Introduction The excessive noise observed in the school environment can cause damages or losses to the learning process as well as risks to the health of teachers and students, such as physical, mental and social impairments, including, among them, hearing loss. Objective To assess otoacoustic emissions in teachers and determine whether classroom noise reduces distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Method Sixty-seven teachers were evaluated using otoacoustic emissions testing in two situations: after hearing rest and after the working day. Results Signal amplitude (p = 0.044 [2 kHz]; p = 0.01 [4 kHz]) and SNR for frequencies of 2 kHz (p = 0.008) and 4 kHz (p = 0.001) decreased significantly between time points. Mean classroom noise was associated with the magnitude of the difference in signal amplitude at 2 kHz (p = 0.017) and 4 kHz (p = 0.015), and SNR at 4 kHz (p = 0.023). Conclusions There was a decrease in the amplitude and in the SNR after exposure to the noise in the classroom environment. The high levels of sound pressure that teachers are exposed to on a daily basis can cause a temporary change in the outer hair cells of the Corti organ, and these changes may become permanent over time.


1977 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 575 ◽  
Author(s):  
MS Rahman ◽  
JH Wilson ◽  
Y Aitken

The effects of two light levels (0.98 and 4.90 cal cm-2 hr-1) on rate of development and spikelet number per ear were studied in eight wheat cultivars grown under a 16 hr photoperiod at 20°C. The objective was to ascertain how light affects spikelet number. At the lower light level the durations of the vegetative, spikelet and ear elongation phases were greater, but the number of spikelets per ear, number of phytomers present at floral initiation, final leaf number, number of phytomers that were converted into spikelets, apex length at floral initiation and rate of spikelet initiation were smaller than at the higher light level. Responses to varying light level for a11 these parameters were similar for different cultivars, but the sizes of the responses differed. Within a given cultivar, an increase in spikelet number was associated with longer apices at floral initiation and a higher rate of spikelet initiation. It was concluded that these two factors are important determinants of spikelet number. ___________________ *Part I, Aust. J. Agric, Res., 28: 565 (1977).


1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 504-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Appenzeller ◽  
W. C. Leggett

We used hydroacoustics to examine diel changes in the vertical distributions of rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax, in Lake Memphremagog, Quebec/Vermont. Our objective was to evaluate hypotheses linking diel vertical movements of fish with light levels. Smelt distributions were also monitored from June through October (1988 and 1990) to evaluate seasonal changes in their behavior. A strong relationship (r2 = 0.83) between ambient light intensities and the upper fish layer in the water column was observed. Fish depth was also related to the depth of the thermocline during the night and when surface water temperatures were > 18 °C. The most characteristic feature was the strong avoidance of light levels > 0.1 μW/cm2. However, we found considerable variation in lower light levels experienced by the whole fish population. The results suggest that existing models of anti-predation behavior relating light and fish depth are consistent, with some limitations, with patterns of diel vertical migration in rainbow smelt.


1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (6) ◽  
pp. R1067-R1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Carpenter ◽  
S. Grossberg

A neural model of the suprachiasmatic nuclei suggests how behavioral activity, rest, and circadian period depend on light intensity in diurnal and nocturnal mammals. These properties are traced to the action of light input (external zeitgeber) and an activity-mediated fatigue signal (internal zeitgeber) on the circadian pacemaker. Light enhances activity of the diurnal model and suppresses activity of the nocturnal model. Fatigue suppresses activity in both diurnal and nocturnal models. The asymmetrical action of light and fatigue in diurnal vs. nocturnal models explains the more consistent adherence of nocturnal mammals to Aschoff's rule, the consistent adherence of both diurnal and nocturnal mammals to the circadian rule, and the tendency of nocturnal mammals to lose circadian rhythmicity at lower light levels than diurnal mammals. The fatigue signal is related to the sleep process S of Borbely (Hum. Neurobiol. 1: 195–204, 1982.) and contributes to the stability of circadian period. Two predictions follow: diurnal mammals obey Aschoff's rule less consistently during a self-selected light-dark cycle than in constant light, and if light level is increased enough during sleep in diurnal mammals to compensate for eye closure, then Aschoff's rule will hold more consistently. The results are compared with those of Enright's model.


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