Search results for "contrast"
showing 10 items of 1162 documents
Recycling of 3He from lung magnetic resonance imaging
2011
We have developed the means to recycle 3He exhaled by patients after imaging the lungs using magnetic resonance of hyperpolarized 3He. The exhaled gas is collected in a helium leak proof bag and further compressed into a steel bottle. The collected gas contains about 1–2% of 3He, depending on the amount administered and the number of breaths collected to wash out the 3He gas from the lungs. 3He is separated from the exhaled air using zeolite molecular sieve adsorbent at 77 K followed by a cold head at 8 K. Residual gaseous impurities are finally absorbed by a commercial nonevaporative getter. The recycled 3He gas features high purity, which is required for repolarization by metastability ex…
A Dichoptic Edge Effect Resulting from Binocular Contour Dominance
1980
If one eye sees a bright field on a dark surround while a homogeneous background is presented to the other eye, then a distinct dark zone appears at the outer borders of the field.If the surround is coloured, then the zone is of corresponding hue. The effect disappears if the edge of the field can be fused with a bar of appropriate contrast. The influence of parameters such as pattern contrast and size were studied quantitatively. A model is proposed relating the effect to receptive-field organisation and the fusion process.
Luminance and contrast in visual perception of time to collision.
2013
AbstractMany animals avoid dark, approaching objects seen against a lighter background but show no or weaker reactions to stimuli with inverted contrast. We investigated whether human observers would respond differently to such stimuli in terms of estimated time-to-arrival. We varied luminances of an approaching, light or dark disk and a plain, grey background, and for several conditions, continuously adjusted calibrations so as to keep contrast and/or overall lightness constant. Since no effects were found, we conclude that humans are able to discard luminance and contrast for the task at hand. Generally, however, performance was affected by different, consecutive regimes of feedback: Init…
Implementations of a novel algorithm for colour constancy
1997
AbstractIn agreement with the principles of the relativistic model proposed by Creutzfeldtet al., with the photometric rule (lightness anchoring rule) and with the influence of simultaneous contrast in the appearance of a visual scene, we propose a first-stage mechanism yielding substantial colour constancy. We have defined a set of first-stage colour descriptors, and to test their utility, we have performed a simulation using a Machine Vision System (MVS). The statistical stability of the descriptors for Munsell samples under different illuminants is good.
Agreement or no agreement. ERP correlates of verb agreement violation in German Sign Language
2018
Previous studies on agreement violation in sign languages report neurophysiological responses similar to those observed for spoken languages. In contrast, the two current event-related potential studies (ERP) on agreement violations in German Sign Language sentences present results that allow for an alternative explanation. In experiment A, we investigated the processing of agreement verbs ending in an unspecified location different to the location associated with the referent. Incorrect agreement verbs engendered a posterior positivity effect (220–570 ms post nonmanual cues) and a left anterior effect (300–600 ms post the subsequent sign onset). In experiment B, we investigated a violation…
A metaphorical map of subtitling
2020
Abstract This study explores the metaphorical dimension of idioms in original filmic texts and their translations in subtitles, in order to shed light on strategies used in the translation process. The research focuses on a corpus of 20 films from the Library of Foreign Language Film Clips (LFLFC), at the Berkeley Language Center of the University of California, Berkeley. More specifically, I analyze films in German and Spanish with English subtitles from a cognitive and contrastive perspective. My goal is to explore how translation can affect understanding and reception by an audience with limited or no skills in the original language. Results of the analysis show a tendency towards reduct…
Pragmatic markers in contrast: The case of well
2008
Well is the most frequently analysed discourse marker. However, its meaning still remains elusive. The question explored in this paper is to what extent a contrastive analysis of a pragmatic marker can help identify its meaning and functions. The answer to this question is supported by an analysis of the occurrences of well in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral and their functional equivalents in the Catalan and Spanish dubbed versions. The analysis provides evidence that pragmatic markers such as well exhibit differences in meaning when compared with logical markers such as but. Their meaning is fully pragmatic since it does not refer properly to a propositional content but to structural…
The audio describer as a cultural mediator
2017
AbstractAudio Description (AD) is a modality of audiovisual translation that consists of making cultural products accessible to people who are blind or partially-sighted. Our study focuses on the contrastive analysis of the AD of four films in English and Spanish, our objective being to determine how the same visual cultural reference is described in two languages and for two target cultures. Using a descriptive methodology, we categorise and analyse cultural references followingDíaz Cintas and Remael’s (2007)classification and determine the translation strategies used. Our research shows that the decisions that the describer makes are conditioned by the distance, not only geographical but …
All declarative questions are attributive?
2008
Gunlogson (2007) claims that (i) declaratives used as questions express a propositional commitment just as normal assertions do, but that (ii) this commitment is not attributed to the speaker’s but to the addressee’s commitment-set. Thus, Gunlogson (2007) interprets all declarative questions as “attributive” utterance types involving a commitment-shift from speaker to addressee. By contrast, I will argue that not all declarative questions involve the suggested commitment-shift. I will distinguish two types of declarative questions, (i) echo questions (with declarative sentence type) and (ii) confirmative questions. Whereas echo questions leave the speaker’s commitment-set untouched, confirm…
Introduction to Beliefs about SLA revisited
2011
Abstract This article serves as an introduction to this second special issue of System on Beliefs about Second Language Acquisition (SLA) held by learners and/or teachers of foreign languages in a variety of contexts all over the world, and it compares and contrasts the empirical studies included in the issue. In sharp contrast to the first special System issue on beliefs about SLA, most of the studies reported in this issue draw on sociocultural theory, make use of more than one type of data, and can be characterized as qualitative in nature. In addition, the studies tend to view beliefs as variable and fixed, and focus on changes in these and/or on the interaction between beliefs and lear…