Number processing outside awareness? Systematically testing sensitivities of direct and indirect measures of consciousness

In priming research, it is often argued that humans can discriminate stimuli outside consciousness. For example, the semantic meaning of numbers can be processed even when the numbers are so strongly masked that participants are not aware of them. These claims are typically based on a certain pattern of results: Direct measures indicate no conscious awareness of the masked stimuli, while indirect measures show clear priming effects of the same stimuli on reaction times or neurophysiological measures. From this pattern, preserved (unconscious) processing in the indirect task is concluded. However, this widely used standard reasoning is problematic and leads to spurious claims of unconscious processing. Such problems can be avoided by comparing sensitivities of direct and indirect measures. Many studies are affected by these problems, such that a reassessment of the literature is needed. Here, we investigated whether numbers can be processed unconsciously. In three experiments, we replicated and extended well-established effects of number priming over a wide range of stimulus visibilities. We then compared the standard reasoning to a sensitivity analysis, where direct and indirect effects are compared using the same metric. Results show that the sensitivities of indirect measures did not exceed those of direct measures, thereby indicating no evidence for preserved unconscious processing when awareness of the stimuli is low. Instead, it seems that at low visibility there is residual processing that affects direct and indirect measures to a similar degree. This suggests that similar processing modes cause those effects in direct and indirect measures.

Cloud-Edge Collaboration-Based Knowledge Sharing Mechanism for Manufacturing Resources

The development of multi-variety, mixed-flow manufacturing environments is hampered by a low degree of automation in information and empirical parameters’ reuse among similar processing technologies. This paper proposes a mechanism for knowledge sharing between manufacturing resources that is based on cloud-edge collaboration. The manufacturing process knowledge is coded using an ontological model, based on which the manufacturing task is refined and decomposed to the lowest-granularity concepts, i.e., knowledge primitives. On this basis, the learning process between devices is realized by effectively screening, matching, and combining the existing knowledge primitives contained in the knowledge base deployed on the cloud and the edge. The proposed method’s effectiveness was verified through a comparative experiment contrasting manual configuration and knowledge sharing configuration on a multi-variety, small-batch manufacturing experiment platform.

Events associated with DNA replication disruption are not observed in hydrogen peroxide-treated Escherichia coli

UV irradiation induces pyrimidine dimers that block polymerases and disrupt the replisome. Restoring replication depends on the recF pathway proteins which process and maintain the replication fork DNA to allow the lesion to be repaired before replication resumes. Oxidative DNA lesions, such as those induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), are often thought to require similar processing events, yet far less is known about how cells process oxidative damage during replication. Here we show that replication is not disrupted by H2O2-induced DNA damage in vivo. Following an initial inhibition, replication resumes in the absence of either lesion removal or RecF-processing. Restoring DNA synthesis depends on the presence of manganese in the medium, which we show is required for replication, but not repair to occur. The results demonstrate that replication is enzymatically inactivated, rather than physically disrupted by H2O2-induced DNA damage; indicate that inactivation is likely caused by oxidation of an iron-dependent replication or replication-associated protein that requires manganese to restore activity and synthesis; and address a long standing paradox as to why oxidative glycosylase mutants are defective in repair, yet not hypersensitive to H2O2. The oxygen-sensitive pausing may represent an adaptation that prevents replication from occurring under potentially lethal or mutagenic conditions.

Insular responses to transient painful and non-painful thermal and mechanical spinothalamic stimuli recorded using intracerebral EEG

Brief thermo-nociceptive stimuli elicit low-frequency phase-locked local field potentials (LFPs) and high-frequency gamma-band oscillations (GBOs) in the human insula. Although neither of these responses constitute a direct correlate of pain perception, previous findings suggest that insular GBOs may be strongly related to the activation of the spinothalamic system and/or to the processing of thermal information. To disentangle these different features of the stimulation, we compared the insular responses to brief painful thermonociceptive stimuli, non-painful cool stimuli, mechano-nociceptive stimuli, and innocuous vibrotactile stimuli, recorded using intracerebral electroencephalograpic activity in 7 epileptic patients (9 depth electrodes, 58 insular contacts). All four types of stimuli elicited consistent low-frequency phase-locked LFPs throughout the insula, possibly reflecting supramodal activity. The latencies of thermo-nociceptive and cool low-frequency phase-locked LFPs were shorter in the posterior insula compared to the anterior insula, suggesting a similar processing of thermal input initiating in the posterior insula, regardless of whether the input produces pain and regardless of thermal modality. In contrast, only thermo-nociceptive stimuli elicited an enhancement of insular GBOs, suggesting that these activities are not simply related to the activation of the spinothalamic system or to the conveyance of thermal information.

Effect of Electron Beam and Heat Treatment on the Reactivity of Aggregates and Mineral Additives towards Alkali-Silica Reaction in Portland Cement Compositions

Electron beam (EB) and heat treatment of silica-containing aggregates and mineral additives for Portland cement mortars is shown to affect their activity in alkali-silica reaction (ASR) damaging concrete structures. In the case of ordinary mortar based on the sand free of alkali-reactive inclusions, both heating to 900°C and EB processing result in a significant increase of reactivity growing with the absorbed dose in the range from 100 to 600 kGy and correlating with the increase in the content of acidic hydroxyl groups on the surface. For sand with reactive chalcedony inclusions, EB treatment results in the growth of their reactivity while heating provides its significant decrease. In case of mineral additives such as silica fume and metakaolin known as very effective ASR-inhibitors, similar processing leads to the increase of their activity in mitigation of ASR. The observed effect is promising for simulation of expansion processes caused by ASR and enhancement of concrete structure resistance to alkali destruction during exploration.

Quantitative analysis for amplitude anomalies at the seabed in the Laminaria High North West Shelf of Austuralia from 2D (1992 Caulerpa) and 3D (1995, Laminaria) pre-stack seismic data

<p>Variation in seismic amplitudes provides different information from the subsurface such as evidence of hydrocarbon accumulation or changes in the lithologies. Furthermore, amplitude anomalies may also be created by thin layers. However, amplitude anomalies are affected by various factors that may not be caused by changes in the lithology or the existence of hydrocarbons such as those caused by acquisition or processing of the seismic data. Hence, these effects need to be understood, eliminated or reduced to background noise levels. Reprocessing of 2D (1992, Caulerpa) and 3D (1995, Laminaria) pre-stack seismic data were applied to examine the veracity of amplitude anomalies at the seabed  in the Laminaria High NW  Shelf of Australia. This study showed that by applying simple but similar processing steps to that applied to the 3D seismic volume that were used in previous studies; it is possible to produce similar amplitude anomalies at the seabed. However, it was noted that amplitude anomalies at the seabed are sensitive to the velocity model; in particular, when applying radon demultiple to suppress the multiple energy in the seismic data. The result of reprocessing these data suggested that the different results of mapping the seabed reflector in this study and previous studies could result from the different processing parameters applied to each data set. Furthermore, reprocessing of the 2D (1992, Caulerpa) that covered the Laminaria High showed similar but not identical amplitude anomalies compared with the original 3D seismic volume (1995), and it is proposed that these difference could be related to the processing applied on each data set. It is concluded in this study, that amplitude anomalies at the seabed are frequency dependent so any manipulation in the frequency filters could affect these amplitude anomalies.</p>

Early reduction of sensory processing within the extrastriate visual cortex when switching from internal to external attention

Attention flexibility is a fundamental ability, which has been explored extensively in the past. However, neurocognitive mechanisms underlying switches of attention between working memory (WM) and perceptual stimuli are still poorly understood. Previous research has found that when participants occasionally switch attention either between two perception-based tasks (within-domain switches), or between a WM- and a perception-based task (between-domain switches), a substantial and similar processing cost is elicited in both cases compared to their mere repetition (Verschooren, Schindler, De Raedt, & Pourtois, 2019). These behavioural results, however, did not inform directly about potentially different mechanisms giving rise to the similar cost observed. In this study, we addressed this question by recording 64-channel EEG while participants carried out within- versus between-domain switches of attention. ERP results showed that during early sensory processing a marked P1 attenuation was associated with both switch types, suggesting that switching influenced an early stage of information processing in this situation. Complementing source localization results confirmed that this attention effect had an extrastriate origin. Crucially, this early gating effect associated with task switching was stronger for the between compared to the within-domain switch, despite their similar behavioural cost. These new findings add to the literature by demonstrating that, even though between- and within-domain switches are associated with a similar behavioural cost, different neurocognitive mechanisms give rise to them. As such, they can inform existing cognitive and neuro-anatomical models of selective attention and flexibility, where in the past the focus has often been on within-domain switches.

Emulating Human Biases and Bounded Rationality and Advances in Ai/Ml

Machine learning, deep learning, as well as artificial intelligence all possess fairly particular meanings, yet are actually commonly extensively made use of to pertain to any type of modern, big-data similar processing method. In this particular respect, it's subject to the inescapable buzz that accompanies real innovations in records processing, which the industry very most surely is appreciating currently. The paper concentrated on even more key questions regarding the interplay between theory and data in attempts to style as well as imitates human habits

QUANTITATIVE CHANGES OF ASCORBIC ACID AND BETA CAROTENE IN AFRICAN NIGHTSHADE (SOLANUM NIGRUM) AND SPIDER PLANT (CLEOME GYNANDRA) DUE TO TRADITIONAL COOKING METHODS USED IN WESTERN KENYA

African nightshade (Solanum nigrum) and Spider plant (Cleome gynandra) are among African leafy vegetables (ALVs) that are consumed in Kenya. Studies were conducted to establish the traditional cooking methods for ALVs and to determine quantitative changes in ascorbic acid and beta carotene on cooking the two ALVs. Results revealed that the cooking methods had distinct steps. The amount of time and water for cooking were unspecified. Ascorbic acid decreased from 28.2mg/100g to 1.8mg/100g in Spider plant (93.6% loss) and from 19.5mg/100g to 5.8mg/100g in African nightshade (70% loss). Beta carotene decreased from 2.1mg/100g to 0.1mg/100g in Spider plant (94.4% loss) and from 1.8mg/100g to 0.9mg/100g (50.6% loss) in African nightshade. All results were significant (P˂ 0.001). The study concludes that there are existing methods of cooking ALVs. For the two ALVs, cooking led to drastic losses of ascorbic acid and beta carotene. Losses from the African nightshade were generally lower than from the Spider plant for the same nutrient, under similar processing conditions. The study recommends procedural changes in processing methods so as to conserve the two nutrients.

Each One the Same

This study examines the social significance of extreme processing and performative violence at the massacre site Sacred Ridge in the North American Southwest. The analysis of the skeletal remains demonstrates that all of the victims were similarly processed and that processing of the body did not vary based on the age or sex of the victims. The similar processing indicates that this entire group of victims was viewed as the dehumanized other. This othering led to a lack of empathy among the perpetrators for the victims, leading to their ability to perform the massacre. The psychological and emotional factors affecting the different groups (victims, perpetrators, and witnesses) are explored and highlight how these dynamics can impact power relations.