Compensatory Information Research Articles

Prediction of disease progression in individuals with subjective cognitive decline using brain network analysis.

The objective of this study is to explore potential differences in brain functional networks at baseline between individuals with progressive subjective cognitive decline (P-SCD) and stable subjective cognitive decline (S-SCD), as well as to identify potential indicators that can effectively distinguish between P-SCD and S-SCD. Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database was utilized to enroll SCD individuals with a follow-up period of over 3 years. This study included 39 individuals with S-SCD, 15 individuals with P-SCD, and 45 cognitively normal (CN) individuals. Brain functional networks were constructed based on the AAL template, and graph theory analysis was performed to determine the topological properties. For global metric, the S-SCD group exhibited stronger small-worldness with reduced connectivity among nearby nodes and accelerated compensatory information transfer capacity. For nodal efficiency, the S-SCD group showed increased connectivity in bilateral posterior cingulate gyri (PCG). However, for nodal local efficiency, the P-SCD group exhibited significantly reduced connectivity in the right cerebellar Crus I compared with the S-SCD group. There are differences in brain functional networks at baseline between P-SCD and S-SCD groups. Furthermore, the right cerebellar Crus I region may be a potentially useful brain area to distinguish between P-SCD and S-SCD.

High-Fidelity Diffusion-Based Image Editing

Diffusion models have attained remarkable success in the domains of image generation and editing. It is widely recognized that employing larger inversion and denoising steps in diffusion model leads to improved image reconstruction quality. However, the editing performance of diffusion models tends to be no more satisfactory even with increasing denoising steps. The deficiency in editing could be attributed to the conditional Markovian property of the editing process, where errors accumulate throughout denoising steps. To tackle this challenge, we first propose an innovative framework where a rectifier module is incorporated to modulate diffusion model weights with residual features from the original images, thereby providing compensatory information to bridge the fidelity gap. Furthermore, we introduce a novel learning paradigm aimed at minimizing error propagation during the editing process, which trains the editing procedure in a manner similar to denoising score-matching. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our proposed framework and training strategy achieve high-fidelity reconstruction and editing results across various levels of denoising steps, meanwhile exhibits exceptional performance in terms of both quantitative metric and qualitative assessments. Lastly, we explore our model's generalization though several applications like image-to-image translation and out-of-domain image editing.

Effect of APOEε4 on Functional Brain Network in Patients with Subjective Cognitive Decline: A Resting State Functional MRI Study.

PurposeSubjective cognitive decline (SCD) is the earliest symptom stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and the APOEε4 allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic AD. Based on graph theory, the resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) in SCD patients with APOEε4 was studied to explore the effect of APOEε4 on the rsFC network properties of SCD patients.Patients and MethodsThis cross-sectional study included MRI image data from 19 SCD patients with APOEε4 (SCD+), 29 SCD patients without APOEε4 (SCD−), and 30 normal control (NC−) individuals without APOEε4. We generated a binary matrix based on anatomical automatic labeling (AAL) 90 atlas to construct the functional network. We then calculated the whole brain network characteristics and intracerebral node characteristics by graph theory.ResultsFor the whole brain network characteristics, all three groups showed small-worldness. The SCD+ group had increased compensatory information transfer speed and enhanced integration capability. This group also had high heterogeneity for intracerebral node characteristics, mainly in the default mode network, left superior occipital gyrus, and bilateral putamen.ConclusionAPOEε4 effects the functional brain network in patients with SCD and may be a potential indicator for the identification of SCD.

Robust predictive iterative learning control for linear time‐varying systems

AbstractA novel control technique is proposed by combining iterative learning control (ILC) with model predictive control (MPC) for a trajectory tracking problem of linear time‐varying systems (LTVSs) in this paper. By introducing prediction mechanism along both of the iteration and time directions instead of only one direction, the control law is successively updated along two directions by learning from the predictive and compensatory information. The new control law can improve convergence speed and effectively suppress the uncertainties in initial states, external disturbances, and model mismatches. The convergence conditions are rigorously derived and analyzed as well. An example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.

Multiple Criteria Group Decision-Making Method with Dempster–Shafer Theory and Probabilistic Linguistic Term Sets

The motivation of this study is to propose a novel multiple criteria group decision-making (MCDGM) method based on Dempster–Shafer theory (DST) and probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs) to handle the distinctions between compensatory information at the criterion level and noncompensatory information at the individual level in the process of information fusion. Initially, the information at the individual level is extracted by BPA functions. Then, they are fused with DST considering ignorance and DMs’ reliabilities. Next, the obtained BPA functions are transformed into interval-valued PLTSs with the assistance of intermediate belief and plausibility. Subsequently, the interval-valued PLTSs are converted into standard PLTSs. After normalization, the holistic PLTS is obtained with weighted addition operation and the round function is applied to determine the ultimate evaluation result. Finally, a case simulation study of evaluating the marine ranching ecological security is presented to verify and improve the validity and feasibility of the proposed method and algorithm in practical application. The proposed method and its relevant algorithm are both innovative combination of DST and PLTSs from the perspective of compensatory and noncompensatory features of information, which provides a new angle of view for the development of probabilistic preference theory and is beneficial to apply probabilistic preference theory in practice.

Improved derivation of forest stand canopy height structure using harmonized metrics of full-waveform data

A variety of prototypical metrics of ICESat-1 GLAS full-waveform data have been applied to estimate the forest canopy height over a footprint area and presented using the values of maximum canopy height, crown-area-weighted canopy height, or basal-area-weighted canopy height. The full-waveform pattern of a large footprint is changeable due to complicated interaction of canopy elements and terrain relief, consequently a noticeable bias may be introduced to the estimation. This paper begins with the approach of area-based growing stock volume calculation, developing harmonized metrics to integrate versatile signals in a denoised multimodal waveform of ICESat-1 data. These novel metrics were applied to derive a harmonized canopy height model for estimating the canopy height at footprint level and the distribution of canopy height at stand level. The performance of this model was evaluated with respect to the prototypical metrics derived canopy height model based on airborne LiDAR data determined canopy heights of a secondary evergreen mixed forest in a steep rugged terrain in central Taiwan. Footprint-level canopy height was evaluated via accuracy measures using a cross-validation method. Appropriateness of canopy height structure was examined via a post hoc test of the shape similarity for both ICESat-1 data-derived and airborne LiDAR-derived canopy height distribution models at stand level. Results showed that the harmonized canopy height model was able to achieve an accuracy of RMSE = 3.13 ± 0.08 m and RMSE% = 22.40 ± 0.55% as well as a significant reduction of bias. The canopy height distribution of the forest stand derived by harmonized metrics of ICESat-1 full-waveform data is statistically the same as that determined by airborne LiDAR data. Harmonized metrics provide compensatory information of trailing-edge extent and terrain index for describing canopy height. In contrast to the canopy height model using only prototypical waveform metrics, the harmonized metrics based canopy height model can mitigate the potential influence of terrain effects and dense canopy coverage on waveform pattern. Because a priori knowledge of terrain relief data is not required for modeling, the harmonized algorithm is useful for retrieving the trend of canopy height growth over the terrestrial forest ecosystem.

Pre-planning of intramedullary nailing procedures: A methodology for predicting the position of the distal hole

Inserting the distal locking screws is a challenging step of the intramedullary nailing procedures due to the nail deformation that makes the proximally mounted targeting systems ineffective. A pre-planning methodology is proposed, based on an analytical model of the nail–bone construct, to predict the nail deformation during surgery using orthogonal preoperative radiographs. Each of the femoral shaft and the nail was modeled as a curved tubular Euler–Bernoulli beam. The unknown positions and forces of the nail–bone interaction were found using a systematic trial and error approach, which minimized the total strain energy of the system while satisfying the force and geometrical constraints. The predictions of the model for the nail deformation were compared with the experimental results of five cadaver specimens in 15 test conditions. Relatively large displacements (up to 13 mm) were found for the distal hole in sagittal plane only. The model predictions were in close agreement with the experimental results, with a root mean square error of 1.2 mm. It was concluded that the proposed pre-planning methodology is promising for practical clinical use in intramedullary nailing operations, in order to provide the compensatory information that is required for tuning of proximally mounted targeting systems.

Face hallucination via multiple feature learning with hierarchical structure

In the past few years, neighbor-embedding (NE) based methods have been widely exploited for face hallucination. However, the existing NE based methods in spatial domain just employ single type of features for data representation, ignoring the compensatory information among multiple image features, resulting in bias in high resolution (HR) face image reconstruction. To tackle such problem, this paper presents a novel Multiple feature Learning model with Hierarchical Structure (MLHS) for face hallucination. Compared with conventional NE based methods, the proposed MLHS makes full use of multi-level information of face images, which can effectively remedy the flaw caused by just using single type of spatial pixel features, and adopts hierarchical structure to better maintain the manifold consistency hypothesis between the HR and low resolution (LR) patch spaces. The multiple learning strategy and hierarchical structure admit the proposed MLHS to well reconstruct the face details such as eyes, nostrils and mouth. The validity of the proposed MLHS method is confirmed by the comparison experiments in some public face databases.

A comparison study on hydrocarbon composition in bitumens I and II from Lower Cambrian marine shales in Guizhou Province, South China

The composition and distribution of hydrocarbons in the initial solvent extracts (bitumen I) and corresponding secondary extracts (bitumen II) of kerogens in the Lower Cambrian marine shales from Guizhou Province of South China, were comparatively studied. The goal of this study is to explore whether the secondary extracts can provide the compensatory information on the source inputs of original organic matters, depositional environments and thermal maturity in highly mature shales. The results show that their similarities are mainly reflected by the same components of hydrocarbons, such as n-alkanes, acyclic isoprenoids, terpanes, and steranes detected in two bitumen fractions. These similarities suggest that the hydrocarbons in bitumens I and II are generally indigenous. Whereas the relative abundances of tricyclic terpanes (TT) and diginanes are significantly high in bitumen II, as their ratios of C21TT/αβC30 hopane and C21/20R αααC27 sterane in bitumen II are much higher than those in bitumen I. Bitumen II is also characterized by a relatively higher abundance of low carbon number alkanes as the C21−/C22+ ratios in the range of 8.4–31.5 contrasted to 0.9–5.2 in bitumen I. The hydrocarbons and their related ratios indicate that bitumen II had reserved some intact features of the initial hydrocarbon composition, and therefore may provide useful information on the source input and thermal maturity of organic matters in the highly mature sediments, whose initial soluble organic matters were heavily degraded and/or overprinted.

Prognostic significance of coronary artery calcium scoring and single-photon emission computed tomographic myocardial perfusion imaging on major adverse cardiac events in patients at low risk for suspected coronary artery disease

Background: To explore the prognostic value of combination of coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) on the long-term risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in Chinese patients at low risk of suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).Methods: The medical records of 1876 adult patients who were referred for clinically indicated non-invasive CAD detection with SPECT/CT from January 2011 to December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcome was the occurrence of MACEs, including cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina (UA), and late revascularisation.Results: During a median follow-up of 28.4 ± 9.1 months, 210 patients were identified to have at least one MACEs. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that patients with abnormal SPECT had more MACEs compared to those with normal SPECT (HR = 3.41, 95% CI: 2.08–4.71, p < .01). Both moderate (HR = 3.35, 95% CI: 1.76–4.32, p < .01) and severe CACS (HR = 6.56, 95% CI: 4.71–8.23, p < .01) were associated with occurrence of HACEs compared with normal CACS. Moreover, interaction terms for CACS and SPECT findings were reported to be significantly associated with MACE outcomes (p < .01).Conclusions: CACS and SPECT provided both independent and compensatory prognostic information for risk of MACE in patients at low risk of suspected CAD. Our findings strongly support adding a CACS testing in addition to SPECT in asymptomatic patients to better define the risk of cardiac events during follow-up.

Characterizing Structural Changes With Devolving Remyelination Following Experimental Demyelination Using High Angular Resolution Diffusion MRI and Texture Analysis.

Changes in myelin integrity are associated with the pathophysiology of many neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis. However, noninvasive measurement of myelin injury and repair remains challenging. Advanced MRI techniques including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), neurite orientation dispersion and density index (NODDI), and texture analysis have shown promise in quantifying subtle abnormalities in white matter structure. To determine whether and how these advanced imaging methods help understand remyelination changes after demyelination using a mouse model. Prospective, longitudinal. Demyelination was induced in the thoracic spinal cord of 21 mice using the chemical toxin lysolecithin. 9.4T ASSESSMENT: Imaging was done at day 7 (demyelination) and days 14 to 35 (ongoing remyelination) postsurgery, followed by histology. Image analysis focused on both lesions and peri-lesional areas where remyelination began. In histology, we quantified the complexity of tissue alignment using angular entropy, in addition to staining area. Two-way analysis of variance was performed for assessing differences between tissue types and across timepoints, followed by post-hoc analysis to correct for multiple comparisons (P < 0.05). All diffusion and texture parameters were worse in lesions than the control tissue (P < 0.05) except orientation dispersion index (ODI) and neurite density index (NDI) over late remyelination. Longitudinally, ODI decreased and NDI increased persistently in both lesions and peri-lesion regions (P < 0.05). Fractional anisotropy showed a mild decrease at day 35 after increase, when lesion texture heterogeneity showed a trend to decrease (P > 0.05). Both lesion size and angular entropy decreased over time, and no change in any measure in the control tissue. Diffusion and MRI texture metrics may provide compensatory information on myelin repair and ODI and NDI could be sensitive measures of evolving remyelination, deserving further validation. 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:1750-1759.

A patient specific finite element simulation of intramedullary nailing to predict the displacement of the distal locking hole

Distal locking is a challenging subtask of intramedullary nailing fracture fixation due to the nail deformation that makes the proximally mounted targeting systems ineffective. A patient specific finite element model was developed, based on the QCT data of a cadaveric femur, to predict the position of the distal hole of the nail postoperatively. The mechanical interactions of femur and nail (of two sizes) during nail insertion was simulated using ABAQUS in two steps of dynamic pushing and static equilibrium, for the intact and distally fractured bone. Experiments were also performed on the same specimen to validate the simulation results. A good agreement was found between the model predictions and the experimental observations. There was a three-point contact pattern between the nail and medullary canal, only on the proximal fragment of the fractured bone. The nail deflection was much larger in the sagittal plane and increased for the larger diameter nail, as well as for more distally fractured or intact femur. The altered position of the distal hole was predicted by the model with an acceptable error (mean: 0.95; max: 1.5 mm, in different tests) to be used as the compensatory information for fine tuning of proximally mounted targeting systems.

The Effect of Visual Stimuli on Stability and Complexity of Postural Control

Visual input could benefit balance control or increase postural sway, and it is far from fully understanding the effect of visual stimuli on postural stability and its underlying mechanism. In this study, the effect of different visual inputs on stability and complexity of postural control was examined by analyzing the mean velocity (MV), SD, and fuzzy approximate entropy (fApEn) of the center of pressure (COP) signal during quiet upright standing. We designed five visual exposure conditions: eyes-closed, eyes-open (EO), and three virtual reality (VR) scenes (VR1–VR3). The VR scenes were a limited field view of an optokinetic drum rotating around yaw (VR1), pitch (VR2), and roll (VR3) axes, respectively. Sixteen healthy subjects were involved in the experiment, and their COP trajectories were assessed from the force plate data. MV, SD, and fApEn of the COP in anterior–posterior (AP), medial–lateral (ML) directions were calculated. Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was conducted to test the statistical significance. We found that all the three parameters obtained the lowest values in the EO condition, and highest in the VR3 condition. We also found that the active neuromuscular intervention, indicated by fApEn, in response to changing the visual exposure conditions were more adaptive in AP direction, and the stability, indicated by SD, in ML direction reflected the changes of visual scenes. MV was found to capture both instability and active neuromuscular control dynamics. It seemed that the three parameters provided compensatory information about the postural control in the immersive virtual environment.

Rationality: Transitivity and System 2. Individual Differences in Information Processing.

Despite a high interest in personal styles of information processing in decision research, measurements of rationality in Dual Process Theories (DPT) have not been confronted with the normative concept of rationality, e.g. obeying the transitivity axiom. Therefore, the first goal of this study is to validate Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI) and Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) through checking its relation to the transitivity axiom. Assuming that there is a link between scores on DPT measures and the basic principles of logic, the second goal is to test the relation between thinking styles and decision strategies. The following characteristics of strategies are investigated: requirements for trade-offs, maximization vs. satisficing and option-wise vs. attribute-wise information processing, since they refer to the classical concept of rationality, bounded rationality and simple heuristics. It is expected that high scores on Rationality subscale of REI (REI-R) and in CRT is related to compensatory option-wise information processing and maximization or satisficing.Respondents have been given choices between two multi-attribute options. In Study 1, they choose between two apartments. In Study 2, they made the same choices between two abstract options described on dimensions without specific modalities. Options were designed such that the choice indicated which strategy was applied.Both REI-R and CRT have been found to be good predictors of transitive preferences. Respondents who applied compensatory strategies and the maximization criterion scored highly on REI-R and in CRT, whereas those who applied satisficing rule scored highly on REI-R but not in CRT. Attribute-wise information processing led to low scores in both measurements.

Effect of language experience on the intelligibility of interrupted speech

Signal distortions are more detrimental to speech perception by native than non-native listeners. We investigated how speech clarity and semantic context influence the perception of interrupted speech. Native and non-native American English listeners heard semantically meaningful or anomalous sentences produced as conversational or “clear” speech, gated at different rates (0.5–16 Hz). Results showed that both semantic context and speech clarity had a significant rate-dependent impact on the intelligibility of interrupted speech. In general, intelligibility was higher for native than non-native listeners. However, the magnitude of the clear-speech benefit varied across the two listener groups. The clear-speech benefit was obtained for gating rates of 2 Hz and above, except for meaningful sentences with native listeners where the benefit begin at 1 Hz. Both listener groups were able to use contextual information but native listeners derived more benefit at lower gating rates, indicating greater ability to access semantic information with limited acoustic-phonetic input. The results suggest that the non-native speech-perception deficit in adverse listening conditions may in part be due to their less efficient use of compensatory information at higher levels of language processing.

Fusing multifocus images for yarn hairiness measurement

Yarn hairiness has been an important indication of yarn quality that affects weaving production and fabric appearance. In addition to many dedicated instruments, various image analysis systems have been adopted to measure yarn hairiness for potential values of high accuracy and low cost. However, there is a common problem in acquiring yarn images; that is, hairy fibers protruding beyond the depth of field of the imaging system cannot be fully focused. Fuzzy fibers in the image inevitably introduce errors to the hairiness data. This paper presents a project that attempts to solve the off-focus problem of hairy fibers by applying a new imaging scheme—multifocus image fusion. This new scheme uses compensatory information in sequential images taken at the same position but different depths to construct a new image whose pixels have the highest sharpness among the sequential images. The fused image possesses clearer fiber edges, permitting more complete fiber segmentation and tracing. In the experiments, we used six yarns of different fiber contents and spinning methods to compare the hairiness measurements from the fused images with those from unfused images and from the Uster tester. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this

Accumulation of Sensory Difficulties Predicts Fear of Falling in Older Women

To explore whether the accumulation of sensory difficulties predicts fear of falling (FOF), and whether the traits correlate with each other regardless of familial factors. Self-reported hearing, vision and balance difficulties, and FOF were assessed using structured questionnaires at the baseline and after a 3-year follow-up in 63- to 76-year-old women (n = 434). Among the women without FOF at baseline (n = 245), 41% reported FOF at follow-up. Increasing numbers of sensory difficulties at baseline predicted higher incidence of FOF. The relationship between accumulated sensory difficulties and FOF was not mediated by familial factors. The accumulation of multiple sensory difficulties may hinder older people from receiving compensatory information about body position and environment, thus jeopardizing a person's confidence in maintaining a balanced position. Regular screening of sensory functions followed by appropriate actions may prevent the development of FOF, and thus contribute to prevention of falls and promotion of healthy aging.

Inverse Effects of Information

In today`s society with its emphasis on unlimited information access, control of available information about high-technology products is often vital to their success. When a product is released, consumers may initially be attracted through information about its remarkable internal and external features. They may also perceive a degree of congruence between their own personalities and the product image as more information becomes available over time. Consumers` changing impressions of the product may influence personality congruence negatively or positively. These changes and their effects on prefer-ence for high-technology products are the focus of this paper. A survey was given to a sample of 206 students at K University to investigate the degree to which consumer behavior can be influenced by personality congruence. The need for clear and definite product knowledge in this process and the effect of product information on preference were also investigated. Three analyses were conducted. The results of Analysis 1 showed the influence of per-sonality congruence on preference for high-technology products. Judgments about personality con-gruence were based on non-compensatory rather than compensatory information processing. The re-spondents considered certain aspects of a product`s personality rather than the product as a whole when making preference decisions. The results of Analysis 2 indicated that when less information was available about a product, consumers who perceived high personality congruence with the product tended to have higher preference for it compared to those who perceived low personality congruence with the product. On the other hand, when consumers were given more information, no difference was observed in the impact of personality on preference between perceived high and low personality congruence. Lastly, the results of Analysis 3 showed that when consumers with high need for closure (NFC) perceived high congruence between their own personalities and a product, objective information regarding the product was not used in decision-making: instead, judgments about the product were based on perceived personality congruence. On the other hand, high-NFC consumers who perceived low personality congruence between themselves and the product tended to require more information about the product in order to give it a positive evaluation. In contrast, low-NFC consumers who per-ceived high personality congruence felt comfortable with large amounts of information, For low-NFC consumers who perceived low congruence, the level of information had no influence on preference.

Team Communication During Patient Handover From the Operating Room

This study was aimed at examining team communication during postoperative handover and its relationship to clinicians' self-ratings of handover quality. Adverse events can often be traced back to inadequate communication during patient handover. Research and improvement efforts have mostly focused on the information transfer function of patient handover. However, the specific mechanisms between handover communication processes among teams of transferring and receiving clinicians and handover quality are poorly understood. We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional observation study using a taxonomy for handover behaviors developed on the basis of established approaches for analyzing teamwork in health care. Immediately after the observation, transferring and receiving clinicians rated the quality of the handover using a structured tool for handover quality assessment. Handover communication during 117 handovers in three postoperative settings and its relationship to clinicians' self-ratings of handover quality were analyzed with the use of correlation analyses and analyses of variance. We identified significantly different patterns of handover communication between clinical settings and across handover roles. Assessments provided during handover were related to higher ratings of handover quality overall and to all four dimensions of handover quality identified in this study. If assessment was lacking, we observed compensatory information seeking by the receiving team. Handover quality is more than the correct, complete transmission of patient information. Assessments, including predictions or anticipated problems, are critical to the quality of postoperative handover. The identification of communication behaviors related to high-quality handovers is necessary to effectively support the design and evaluation of handover improvement efforts.

Speech intelligibility in noise for adult and children users of cochlear implants.

Even though high levels of speech understanding in quiet can be developed postimplantation, speech recognition in noise is an especially challenging task for cochlear implant (CI) users. This study examined whether adult and children CI users benefit from signal clarity and contextual‐semantic information to improve their speech recognition in noise. Ten adult and ten children CI users, and ten adults and ten children with normal hearing participated in sentence‐in‐noise listening tests. They heard sentences in which final word varied in predictability, i.e., high versus low semantic context, produced by one female and one male talker in conversational or clear speaking styles. The goal was to assess the effect of age and the length of experience with using cochlear implants on the ability to utilize the compensatory information at higher levels of speech processing independently and in combination with the acoustic‐phonetic enhancements in speech perception. This research will allow us to explore the interaction between lower‐level sensory and higher‐level cognitive factors that affect speech processing in noise for adults and children with cochlear implants. The results of this study add to our current understanding of the development of speech recognition for individuals with cochlear implants and with normal hearing.