Fourier Motion Processing in the Optic Tectum and Pretectum of the Zebrafish Larva

In the presence of moving visual stimuli, the majority of animals follow the Fourier motion energy (luminance), independently of other stimulus features (edges, contrast, etc.). While the behavioral response to Fourier motion has been studied in the past, how Fourier motion is represented and processed by sensory brain areas remains elusive. Here, we investigated how visual moving stimuli with or without the first Fourier component (square-wave signal or missing fundamental signal) are represented in the main visual regions of the zebrafish brain. First, we monitored the larva's optokinetic response (OKR) induced by square-wave and missing fundamental signals. Then, we used two-photon microscopy and GCaMP6f zebrafish larvae to monitor neuronal circuit dynamics in the optic tectum and the pretectum. We observed that both the optic tectum and the pretectum circuits responded to the square-wave gratings. However, only the pretectum responded specifically to the direction of the missing-fundamental signal. In addition, a group of neurons in the pretectum responded to the direction of the behavioral output (OKR), independently of the type of stimulus presented. Our results suggest that the optic tectum responds to the different features of the stimulus (e.g., contrast, spatial frequency, direction, etc.), but does not respond to the direction of motion if the motion information is not coherent (e.g., the luminance and the edges and contrast in the missing-fundamental signal). On the other hand, the pretectum mainly responds to the motion of the stimulus based on the Fourier energy.

Subjective evaluation of the combining effect between the virtual bass and head related transfer functions

Earphones are commonly equipped with miniature loudspeaker units, which cannot transmit enough power of low-frequency sound. Meanwhile, there is often only one loudspeaker unit employed on each side of the earphone, whereby the multi-channel spatial audio processing cannot be applied. Therefore, the combined usage of the virtual bass (VB) and head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) is necessary for an immersive listening experience with earphones. However, the combining effect of the VB and HRTFs has not been comprehensively reported. The VB is developed based on the missing fundamental effect, providing that the presence of harmonics can be perceived as their fundamental frequency, even if the fundamental frequency is not presented. HRTFs describe the transmission process of a sound propagating from the sound source to human ears. Monaural audio processed by a pair of HRTFs can be perceived by the listener as a sound source located in the direction associated with the HRTFs. This paper carries out subjective listening tests and their results reveal that the harmonics required by the VB should be generated in the same direction as the high-frequency sound. The bass quality is rarely distorted by the presence of HRTFs, but the localization accuracy is occasionally degraded by the VB.

A Diccordinate Gold(I)–Ethylene Complex

The use of the exceptionally bulky tris-2-(4,4’-di-tert-butylbiphenylyl)phosphine ligand allows the isolation and complete characterization of the first dicoordinate gold(I)–ethylene adduct, filling a missing fundamental piece on the organometallic chemistry of...

Fundamental Aspects in the Perception of f0

This chapter outlines basic characteristics and principles in the perception of f0 and its interplay with other prosodic and segmental elements of speech. It focuses on those theoretical and empirical contributions that are essential for readers to know in order to conduct, interpret, and assess research on prosody and intonation. Thus, it starts with the psychophysical and psychoacoustic aspects of f0 and pitch, and continues with how perceived pitch patterns are constructed from f0 patterns in speech, also taking into account just noticeable differences. Stressing the various influences of sound segments in this construction process, critical concepts touched upon are intrinsic pitch, the missing fundamental, ‘segmental intonation’, and the theory of optimal tonal perception. Finally, an overview addresses the interplay between f0 and other aspects of prosody. This includes how f0 influences perceived duration and how f0, or rather perceived pitch, is in turn influenced by the acoustic energy level. Whenever useful, the chapter provides practical advice on how to measure and analyse f0 and pitch contours in speech.

Mini-Ballschool for children 3 to 6 years old

Children are often missing fundamental movement skills and elementary ball skills when they get into the game of tennis. They have not learned to play but they are often specifically trained from the very beginning. Learning is mostly done by practicing with instructions and corrections. The Mini-Ballschool for children 3 to 6 focuses on playing as the elementary form of learning.

Impairment of the Missing Fundamental Phenomenon in Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Neuropsychological and Voxel-Based Morphometric Study

Background/Aims: The missing fundamental phenomenon (MFP) is a universal pitch perception illusion that occurs in animals and humans. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the MFP is impaired in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using an auditory pitch perception experiment. We further examined anatomical correlates of the MFP in patients with AD by measuring gray matter volume (GMV) on magnetic resonance images via voxel-based morphometric analysis. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 29 patients with AD and 20 healthy older adults. Auditory stimuli included 12 melodies of Japanese nursery songs that were expected to be familiar to participants. We constructed the melodies using pure and missing fundamental tones (MFTs). Results: Patients with AD exhibited significantly poorer performance on the MFT task than healthy controls. MFT scores were positively correlated with GMV in the bilateral insula and temporal poles, left inferior frontal gyrus, right entorhinal cortex, and right cerebellum. Conclusions: These results suggest that impairments in the MFP represent a manifestation of the degeneration of auditory-related brain regions in AD. Further studies are required to more fully elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying auditory impairments in patients with AD and related dementia disorders.

Propuestas superadoras para la prevención de la insolvencia del consumidor en el Derecho Concursal Argentino

The Argentine bankruptcy law requires specific regulations for the special case of insolvency of consumers and users of goods and services. Not only proper bankruptcy procedure is needed to allow the debtor to discharge his obligations to foster the economic development but also the possibility of negli-125gence or bad-faith in his actions, which should be regulated by an appropriate period of rehabilitation.Notwithstanding these (missing) fundamental pillars for successful consumer insolvency regime, it is es-sential to develop a third pillar: Prevention.Preventing the insolvency of consumers with heterogeneous knowledge base and personal circumstances encourages interdisciplinary regulation that takes into account, on the one hand, education from the initial levels. On the other hand, a specific regulatory framework to avoid misleading advertising and the correla-tive regime of sanctions for entities that violate it. Finally, it will be necessary to modify the bankruptcy or-der to contemplate this special type of debtor for the purposes of a voluntary reorganization or eventual bankruptcy, pillar that will be part of following contributions on the subject.So as to meet the objectives comparative analysis of legal systems that have managed to incorporate the required modifications will be useful. Thus, this work fits into the research stay at the end of 2014 in Elche, Alicante, allowing comparison and obtaining necessary guiding principles from the Spanish law.Keywords: consumer, over indebtedness, preventing insolvency, bankruptcy law, bankruptcy.