Optical encryption using phase modulation generated by thermal lens effect

We present the implementation of an experimental optical encryption configuration in the Fresnel domain using the thermal lens effect to modulate the phase of the illumination beam. We corroborate the basic performance of our cryptosystem by performing the encryption-decryption procedure of a single object. Then, we test the tolerance of the proposed scheme to decrypt decryption with keys registered for different modulations of the illumination beam induced by the phase generated due to thermal lens effect. These different phase modulations are obtained by introducing axial displacements of a sample, where the thermal lens effect is induced by an excitation beam. Considering the phase modulation changes in the illumination due to sample displacements, we propose an undercover procedure to further protect the target information using decoy data. The key associated with the target information is obtained when the probe and excitation beams are focused on the same point of the sample, while the decoy object key is registered when the beams are not focused on the same region of the sample. Finally, we analyzed the resistance of the undercover ciphertext to some of the attacks reported in the literature. All experimental results presented in this work demonstrate the basic capabilities, viability, and versatility of our proposals.

Attentional Guidance and Match Decisions Rely on Different Template Information During Visual Search

When searching for a target object, we engage in a continuous “look-identify” cycle in which we use known features of the target to guide attention toward potential targets and then to decide whether the selected object is indeed the target. Target information in memory (the target template or attentional template) is typically characterized as having a single, fixed source. However, debate has recently emerged over whether flexibility in the target template is relational or optimal. On the basis of evidence from two experiments using college students ( Ns = 30 and 70, respectively), we propose that initial guidance of attention uses a coarse relational code, but subsequent decisions use an optimal code. Our results offer a novel perspective that the precision of template information differs when guiding sensory selection and when making identity decisions during visual search.

Cooperative Attack-Defense Decision-Making of Multi-UAV Using Satisficing Decision-Enhanced Wolf Pack Search Algorithm

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have shown their superiority for applications in complicated military missions. A cooperative attack-defense decision-making method based on satisficing decision-enhanced wolf pack search (SDEWPS) algorithm is developed for multi-UAV air combat in this paper. Firstly, the multi-UAV air combat mathematical model is provided and the attack-defense decision-making constraints are defined. Besides the traditional air combat situation, the capability of UAVs and target information including target type and target intention are all considered in this paper to establish the air combat superiority function. Then, the wolf pack search (WPS) algorithm is used to solve the attack decision problem. In order to improve efficiency, the satisficing decision theory is employed to enhance the WPS to obtain the satisficing solution rather than optimal solution. The simulation results show that the developed method can realize the cooperative attack decision-making.

Combining Regional Energy and Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets for Infrared and Visible Image Fusion

To get more obvious target information and more texture features, a new fusion method for the infrared (IR) and visible (VIS) images combining regional energy (RE) and intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFS) is proposed, and this method can be described by several steps as follows. Firstly, the IR and VIS images are decomposed into low- and high-frequency sub-bands by non-subsampled shearlet transform (NSST). Secondly, RE-based fusion rule is used to obtain the low-frequency pre-fusion image, which allows the important target information preserved in the resulting image. Based on the pre-fusion image, the IFS-based fusion rule is introduced to achieve the final low-frequency image, which enables more important texture information transferred to the resulting image. Thirdly, the ‘max-absolute’ fusion rule is adopted to fuse high-frequency sub-bands. Finally, the fused image is reconstructed by inverse NSST. The TNO and RoadScene datasets are used to evaluate the proposed method. The simulation results demonstrate that the fused images of the proposed method have more obvious targets, higher contrast, more plentiful detailed information, and local features. Qualitative and quantitative analysis results show that the presented method is superior to the other nine advanced fusion methods.

Target-guided Emotion-aware Chat Machine

The consistency of a response to a given post at the semantic level and emotional level is essential for a dialogue system to deliver humanlike interactions. However, this challenge is not well addressed in the literature, since most of the approaches neglect the emotional information conveyed by a post while generating responses. This article addresses this problem and proposes a unified end-to-end neural architecture, which is capable of simultaneously encoding the semantics and the emotions in a post and leveraging target information to generate more intelligent responses with appropriately expressed emotions. Extensive experiments on real-world data demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of both content coherence and emotion appropriateness.

Methodology for managing the flows of target information in the remote sensing space system Part 2. Interrelated mathematical models systems formation

In the second part of the series of articles, the issues of the systemic organization of mathematical models for solving the problem of controlling the flows of target information in the Earth remote sensing space system are considered. A description of the interrelated mathematical models of the orbital constellation as components of the information system, the main task of which is to survey ground objects and the formation of the initial volume of information for its further processing, is presented. To calculate the time of servicing the request by the space segment, the following methods of formation are proposed: a model of the evolution of the Earth remote sensing spacecraft orbit; model for forecasting possible spacecraft correction intervals to maintain nominal orbital parameters; model for forecasting possible time intervals for on / off cycles of observation equipment; model for forecasting possible time intervals for dumping the received information to the information reception points. When calculating the cost of servicing a single request from the orbital complex, both the cost of servicing one spacecraft per unit of time and the cost of processing a single request from the ground complex were taken into account. In conclusion, a generalized form of representation of the target information flow model of the Earth remote sensing space system is proposed as an interconnected sequence of functions for changing the amount of information when an appropriate processing process (traffic change functions) is applied to it. General approaches to solving the optimization problem are considered.

The Mechanisms Underlying Interference and Inhibition: A Review of Current Behavioral and Neuroimaging Research

The memory literature has identified interference and inhibition as two major sources of forgetting. While interference is generally considered to be a passive cause of forgetting arising from exposure to additional information that impedes subsequent recall of target information, inhibition concerns a more active and goal-directed cause of forgetting that can be achieved intentionally. Over the past 25 years, our knowledge of the neural mechanisms underlying both interference-induced and inhibition-induced forgetting has expanded substantially. The present paper gives a critical overview of this research, pointing out empirical gaps in the current work and providing suggestions for future studies.

Bilingualism effects on the cognitive flexibility of autistic children: Evidence from verbal dual-task paradigms

The deficit in cognitive flexibility, i.e. the ability to adapt cognitive behavior to changing contexts, is one of the most prominent characteristics of autistic individuals. Inflexibility may manifest in restricted interests and increased susceptibility to the effects of misinformation either through inefficient inhibition of non-target information or deficient recall of correct information. Bilingualism has been shown to enhance executive functions in both typically-developing children and autistic children, yet, the effect of bilingualism on cognitive flexibility in autism remains underexplored. In this study, we used verbal dual-tasks to compare cognitive flexibility across 50 monolingual autistic and 50 bilingual autistic children, and 50 monolingual and 50 bilingual typically-developing children. The children were also administered language ability tests and a nonverbal global-local cognitive flexibility task, in order to investigate whether performance in the dual-tasks would be modulated by the children’s language and executive function skills. The bilingual autistic children outperformed their monolingual autistic peers in the dual tasks. The strength of the bilingualism effect, however, was modulated by the type of language processing that interfered with the target information in each dual-task, which suggests that the bilingual autistic children calibrated their processing resources and efficiently adapted them to the changing demands of the dual-task only to the extent that the task did not exceed their language abilities. Bilingual autistic children relied on their executive functions rather than on their language abilities while performing in the dual-tasks. The overall results show that bilingualism compensates for the reduced cognitive flexibility in autism.

Methodology for managing the flows of target information in the remote sensing space system Part 1. Task formalization

The article is devoted to the formalization of the problem of distribution of target information flows during the operation of the ERS space system. It is proposed to consider the system as a complex, geographically-distributed information system, the main task of which is to implement a full service cycle, starting with the formation of an application and ending with the provision of a finished thematic product. The decomposition of the ERS space system as a complex information organizational and technical system was carried out, the system and consumer characteristics of its elements were determined. The possibility is substantiated to carry out an objective curtailment of system performance indicators and go to two particular ones that characterize the effectiveness of the target functioning of the system as a whole: the promptness (time) of fulfilling consumer requests for a finished thematic product and the cost of the finished thematic product. A general methodological approach to solving the technical problem is proposed. The result is a formal presentation of the task of distributing the streams of target information during the operation of the ERS space system as a sequence of the following operations: formation of an application; determination of the list of requests to the system required to complete the application; determining the processes and the sequence of their execution that will process the corresponding requests; optimization of the time distribution of processes among the elements of the system, taking into account the selected performance indicators and existing limitations.