Luminance Edges Research Articles

CONCEPT OF AGNI IN ATHEROSCLEROSIS AND ITS MANAGEMENT THROUGH YOGA& AYURVEDA

In Ayurveda, the concept of Agni is inevitable in determining the overall health of an individual, where Agni is said to be the base (moola) of life. The whole catabolic and metabolic processes are carried out in human body, regulated by Agni .But if due to Pragyaparadh or faulty lifestyle, the Agni is deranged then the metabolic activity becomes disturbed at cellular tissue and organ level and it fascilitates to the formation of Ama. Hence, Ama is a triggering factor of many diseases that in turn destroys the Agni. Atherosclerosis occurs mainly due to lifestyle abnormality which is a direct result of Ama accumulation in the body. It is observed that 17.7 million people die each year from Cardiovascular Disorders, in which Atherosclerosis is the precipitating factor and an estimated 31% of all deaths worldwide (acc to WHO). Atherosclerosis is a condition where the arteries become narrowed and hardened due to a build up of Plaque around the artery wall. This disease disrupts the flow of blood around the body, posing the risk of serious complications. The term ‘Atherosclerosis’ is derived from the Greek word ‘athero’ meaning gruel or wax corresponding to the necrotic core area at the base of atherosclerotic plaque and ‘sclerosis’ for hardening the plaques luminal edge. Apart from drug, Yoga therapy may play a pivotal role for alleviation of Atherosclerosis. Yoga therapy improves the blood flow to the organs by neuromuscular action. Practice of Pranayama stimulates and changes the lumen size of the arterioles, which helps to regulate the circulation.

Multi-View Inconsistency Analysis for Video Object-Level Splicing Localization

In the digital era, the widespread use of video content has led to the rapid development of video editing technologies. However, it has also raised concerns about the authenticity and integrity of multimedia content. Video splicing forgery has emerged as a challenging and deceptive technique used to create fake video objects, potentially for malicious purposes such as deception, defamation, and fraud. Therefore, the detection of video splicing forgery has become critically important. Nevertheless, due to the complexity of video data and a lack of relevant datasets, research on video splicing forgery detection remains relatively limited. This paper introduces a novel method for detecting video object splicing forgery, which enhances detection performance by deeply exploring inconsistent features between different source videos. We incorporate various feature types, including edge luminance, texture, and video quality information, and utilize a joint learning approach with Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Vision Transformer (ViT) models. Experimental results demonstrate that our method excels in detecting video object splicing forgery, offering promising prospects for further advancements in this field.

Evaluation of four computed tomography reconstruction algorithms using a coronary artery phantom.

Despite advancements in coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), challenges in positive predictive value and specificity remain due to limited spatial resolution. The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate the effect of 2nd generation deep learning-based reconstruction (DLR) on the quantitative and qualitative image quality in coronary CTA. A vessel model with stepwise non-calcified plaque was scanned using 320-detector CT. Image reconstruction was performed using four techniques: hybrid iterative reconstruction (HIR), model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR), DLR, and 2nd generation DLR. The luminal peak CT number, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and edge rise slope (ERS) were quantitatively evaluated via profile curve analysis. Two observers qualitatively graded the graininess, lumen sharpness, and overall lumen visibility on the basis of the degree of confidence for the stenosis severity using a five-point scale. The image noise with HIR, MBIR, DLR, and 2nd generation DLR was 23.0, 21.0, 16.9, and 9.5 HU, respectively. The corresponding CNR (25% stenosis) was 15.5, 15.9, 22.1, and 38.3, respectively. The corresponding ERS (25% stenosis) was 203.2, 198.6, 228.9, and 262.4 HU/mm, respectively. Among the four reconstruction methods, the 2nd generation DLR achieved the significantly highest CNR and ERS values. The score of 2nd generation DLR in all evaluation points (graininess, sharpness, and overall lumen visibility) was higher than those of the other methods (overall vessel visibility score, 2.6±0.5, 3.8±0.6, 3.7±0.5, and 4.6±0.5 with HIR, MBIR, DLR, and 2nd generation DLR, respectively). 2nd generation DLR provided better CNR and ERS in coronary CTA than HIR, MBIR, and previous-generation DLR, leading to the highest subjective image quality in the assessment of vessel stenosis.

Color and luminance processing in V1 complex cells and artificial neural networks.

Object recognition by natural and artificial visual systems benefits from the identification of object boundaries. A useful cue for the detection of object boundaries is the superposition of luminance and color edges. To gain insight into the suitability of this cue for object recognition, we examined convolutional neural network models that had been trained to recognize objects in natural images. We focused specifically on units in the second convolutional layer whose activations are invariant to the spatial phase of a sinusoidal grating. Some of these units were tuned for a nonlinear combination of color and luminance, which is broadly consistent with a role in object boundary detection. Others were tuned for luminance alone, but very few were tuned for color alone. A literature review reveals that V1 complex cells have a similar distribution of tuning. We speculate that this pattern of sensitivity provides an efficient basis for object recognition, perhaps by mitigating the effects of lighting on luminance contrast polarity. The absence of a contrast polarity-invariant representation of chromaticity alone suggests that it is redundant with other representations.

Human visual sensitivity based optimal local backlight dimming methodologies under different viewing conditions

An adaptive local backlight dimming algorithm is proposed considering human visual sensitivities under various viewing conditions. Local dimming amount is maximized based on contrast sensitivity function and local image characteristics to minimize perceived luminance and contrast losses maintaining image qualities. Average luminance, contrast and spatial frequency are evaluated as local image characteristics. As dimming based on local characteristics has blocking artifacts, a compensation method using edge luminance difference is proposed considering human responses. The proposed algorithms reduce backlight power consumption by 39.69% on average, with an average SSIM of 0.995. It can be increased by 5.66% with varying viewing conditions, resulting in a 45.35% power consumption reduction on average. The outperformances of the proposed algorithm in power consumption reduction and maintaining image quality are verified with various image quality metrics compared to recent dimming algorithms.

Distinguishing shadows from surface boundaries using local achromatic cues.

In order to accurately parse the visual scene into distinct surfaces, it is essential to determine whether a local luminance edge is caused by a boundary between two surfaces or a shadow cast across a single surface. Previous studies have demonstrated that local chromatic cues may help to distinguish edges caused by shadows from those caused by surface boundaries, but the information potentially available in local achromatic cues like contrast, texture, and penumbral blur remains poorly understood. In this study, we develop and analyze a large database of hand-labeled achromatic shadow edges to better understand what image properties distinguish them from occlusion edges. We find that both the highest contrast as well as the lowest contrast edges are more likely to be occlusions than shadows, extending previous observations based on a more limited image set. We also find that contrast cues alone can reliably distinguish the two edge categories with nearly 70% accuracy at 40x40 resolution. Logistic regression on a Gabor Filter bank (GFB) modeling a population of V1 simple cells separates the categories with nearly 80% accuracy, and furthermore exhibits tuning to penumbral blur. A Filter-Rectify Filter (FRF) style neural network extending the GFB model performed at better than 80% accuracy, and exhibited blur tuning and greater sensitivity to texture differences. We compare human performance on our edge classification task to that of the FRF and GFB models, finding the best human observers attaining the same performance as the machine classifiers. Several analyses demonstrate both classifiers exhibit significant positive correlation with human behavior, although we find a slightly better agreement on an image-by-image basis between human performance and the FRF model than the GFB model, suggesting an important role for texture.

Stalling interkinetic nuclear migration in curved pseudostratified epithelium of developing cochlea.

The bending of epithelial tubes is a fundamental process in organ morphogenesis, driven by various multicellular behaviours. The cochlea in the mammalian inner ear is a representative example of spiral tissue architecture where the continuous bending of the duct is a fundamental component of its morphogenetic process. Although the cochlear duct morphogenesis has been studied by genetic approaches extensively, it is still unclear how the cochlear duct morphology is physically formed. Here, we report that nuclear behaviour changes are associated with the curvature of the pseudostratified epithelium during murine cochlear development. Two-photon live-cell imaging reveals that the nuclei shuttle between the luminal and basal edges of the cell is in phase with cell-cycle progression, known as interkinetic nuclear migration, in the flat region of the pseudostratified epithelium. However, the nuclei become stationary on the luminal side following mitosis in the curved region. Mathematical modelling together with perturbation experiments shows that this nuclear stalling facilitates luminal-basal differential growth within the epithelium, suggesting that the nuclear stalling would contribute to the bending of the pseudostratified epithelium during the cochlear duct development. The findings suggest a possible scenario of differential growth which sculpts the tissue shape, driven by collective nuclear dynamics.

Dependence of perceptual saccadic suppression on peri-saccadic image flow properties and luminance contrast polarity

Perceptual detectability of brief visual stimuli is strongly diminished across saccades. Recent work showed that this perceptual suppression phenomenon is jumpstarted in the retina (Idrees et al., 2020), suggesting that the phenomenon might be significantly more visual in nature than normally acknowledged. Here, we explored the details of visual-visual interactions underlying saccadic suppression, and we did so by comparing suppression strength when saccades were made across a uniform image of constant luminance versus when saccades were made across image patches of different luminance, width, and trans-saccadic luminance polarity. In 6 human subjects, we measured perceptual contrast thresholds for brief peri-saccadic flashes of positive (luminance increments) or negative (luminance decrements) polarity. In different conditions, gaze crossed a luminance edge or stripe before landing on a uniform background like in the control condition. Perceptual thresholds were >6-7 times higher when saccades translated a luminance stripe or edge across the retina than when the movements were made over a completely uniform image patch. Moreover, both background luminance and flash luminance polarity relative to the background strongly modulated peri-saccadic contrast thresholds: dark backgrounds were associated with the strongest suppression, and negative polarity flashes over dark backgrounds caused stronger suppression than positive polarity flashes over the same backgrounds. Most importantly, we repeated the same experiments on all subjects with rapid image translations (simulating saccadic visual flows on the retina) without any real saccades. All of the image dependencies that we observed with real saccades (e.g. suppression with gaze crossing an edge or stripe versus suppression with a uniform background) also occurred. Our results indicate that perceptual saccadic suppression may be fundamentally a visual phenomenon. They also strongly motivate revisiting both the movement-related and visual components of saccadic suppression, and investigating how saccade movement commands may interact with visual-visual interactions in shaping trans-saccadic visual perception.

Gravitational effects of scene information in object localization

We effortlessly interact with objects in our environment, but how do we know where something is? An object’s apparent position does not simply correspond to its retinotopic location but is influenced by its surrounding context. In the natural environment, this context is highly complex, and little is known about how visual information in a scene influences the apparent location of the objects within it. We measured the influence of local image statistics (luminance, edges, object boundaries, and saliency) on the reported location of a brief target superimposed on images of natural scenes. For each image statistic, we calculated the difference between the image value at the physical center of the target and the value at its reported center, using observers’ cursor responses, and averaged the resulting values across all trials. To isolate image-specific effects, difference scores were compared to a randomly-permuted null distribution that accounted for any response biases. The observed difference scores indicated that responses were significantly biased toward darker regions, luminance edges, object boundaries, and areas of high saliency, with relatively low shared variance among these measures. In addition, we show that the same image statistics were associated with observers’ saccade errors, despite large differences in response time, and that some effects persisted when high-level scene processing was disrupted by 180° rotations and color negatives of the originals. Together, these results provide evidence for landmark effects within natural images, in which feature location reports are pulled toward low- and high-level informative content in the scene.

Dependence of perceptual saccadic suppression on peri-saccadic image flow properties and luminance contrast polarity.

Across saccades, perceptual detectability of brief visual stimuli is strongly diminished. We recently observed that this perceptual suppression phenomenon is jumpstarted in the retina, suggesting that the phenomenon might be significantly more visual in nature than normally acknowledged. Here, we explicitly compared saccadic suppression strength when saccades were made across a uniform image of constant luminance versus when saccades were made across image patches of different luminance, width, and trans-saccadic luminance polarity. We measured perceptual contrast thresholds of human subjects for brief peri-saccadic flashes of positive (luminance increments) or negative (luminance decrements) polarity. Thresholds were >6–7 times higher when saccades translated a luminance stripe or edge across the retina than when saccades were made over a completely uniform image patch. Critically, both background luminance and flash luminance polarity strongly modulated peri-saccadic contrast thresholds. In addition, all of these very same visual dependencies also occurred in the absence of any saccades, but with qualitatively similar rapid translations of image patches across the retina. This similarity of visual dependencies with and without saccades supports the notion that perceptual saccadic suppression may be fundamentally a visual phenomenon, which strongly motivates neurophysiological and theoretical investigations on the role of saccadic eye movement commands in modulating its properties.

A Study of anImproved Edge Detection Algorithm for MRI Brain Tumor Images Based on Image Quality Parameters

Biomedical imaging with emerging technology plays a vital role in medical diagnosis and treatment. MRI is one such biomedical imaging technology. The incidence of brain tumor in increasing all over the world. Accurate detection of size and location of brain tumor helps in right diagnosis and treatment. In any kind of image processing, image segmentation is a fundamental step. Edge detection is an important technique in the analysis of images, which plays a crucial role in detecting the contour of brain tumor. In this paper, an improved algorithm called the Luminance edge detection algorithm is proposed and compared with the existing edge detection algorithms like Prewitt, Sobel, and Canny for the MRI images of the brain. PSNR and SSIM were calculated to compare the image quality of different edge detection techniques. Results revealed that the PSNR and SSIM values were slightly higher for the images obtained by the Luminance edge detection algorithm when compared to the images obtained by Prewitt, Sobel, and Canny edge detection algorithm. It proves that the proposed algorithm is better than the other edge detection algorithms in producing a quality image of the MRI brain. Hence it can be concluded that the proposed algorithm was better in detecting the contour of brain and brain tumor than the other edge detection techniques.

Spatial Frequency Effective for Increasing Perceived Glossiness by Contrast Enhancement.

It has been suggested that luminance edges in retinal images are potential cues for glossiness perception, particularly when the perception relies on low-luminance specular regions. However, a previous study has shown only statistical correlations between luminance edges and perceived glossiness, not their causal relations. Additionally, although specular components should be embedded at various spatial frequencies depending on the micro-roughness on the object surface, it is not well understood what spatial frequencies are essential for glossiness perception on objects with different micro-roughness. To address these issues, we examined the impact of a sub-band contrast enhancement on the perceived glossiness in the two conditions of stimuli: the Full condition where the stimulus had natural specular components and the Dark condition where it had specular components only in dark regions. Object images with various degrees of surface roughness were generated as stimuli, and their contrast was increased in various spatial-frequency sub-bands. The results indicate that the enhancement of the sub-band contrast can significantly increase perceived glossiness as expected. Furthermore, the effectiveness of each spatial frequency band depends on the surface roughness in the Full condition. However, effective spatial frequencies are constant at a middle spatial frequency regardless of the stimulus surface roughness in the Dark condition. These results suggest that, for glossiness perception, our visual system depends on specular-related information embedded in high spatial frequency components but may change the dependency on spatial frequency based on the surface luminance to be judged.

Neurocomputational model explains spatial variations in perceived lightness induced by luminance edges in the image

Computer simulations of an extended version of a neural model of lightness perception [1,2] are presented. The model provides a unitary account of several key aspects of spatial lightness phenomenology, including contrast and assimilation, and asymmetries in the strengths of lightness and darkness induction. It does this by invoking mechanisms that have also been shown to account for the overall magnitude of dynamic range compression in experiments involving lightness matches made to real-world surfaces [2]. The model assumptions are derived partly from parametric measurements of visual responses of ON and OFF cells responses in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the macaque monkey [3,4] and partly from human quantitative psychophysical measurements. The model’s computations and architecture are consistent with the properties of human visual neurophysiology as they are currently understood. The neural model's predictions and behavior are contrasted though the simulations with those of other lightness models, including Retinex theory [5] and the lightness filling-in models of Grossberg and his colleagues [6].

Potential relationship between high wall shear stress and plaque rupture that cause acute coronary syndrome: insights from optical coherence tomography based computational fluid dynamic simulation

Abstract Background The direct relationship between plaque rupture (PR) that cause acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and wall shear stress (WSS) remains uncertain. Methods From the Kobe University ACS-OCT registry, one hundred ACS patients whose culprit lesions had PR documented by optical coherence tomography (OCT) were enrolled. Lesion-specific 3D coronary artery models were created using OCT data. Specifically, at the ruptured portion, the tracing of the luminal edge of the residual fibrous cap was smoothly extrapolated to reconstruct the luminal contour before PR. Then, WSS was computed from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis by a single core laboratory. Relationships between WSS and the location of PR were assessed with 1) longitudinal 3-mm segmental analysis and 2) circumferential analysis. In the longitudinal segmental analysis, each culprit lesion was subdivided into five 3-mm segments with respect to the minimum lumen area (MLA) location at the centered segment (Figure. 1). In the circumferential analysis, we measured WSS values at five points from PR site and non-PR site on the cross-sections with PR. Also, each ruptured plaque was categorized into the lateral type PR (L-PR), central type PR (C-PR), and others according to the relation between the site of tearing and the cavity (Figure. 2). Results In the longitudinal 3-mm segmental analysis, the incidences of PR at upstream (UP1 and 2), MLA, and downstream (DN1 and 2) were 45%, 40%, and 15%, respectively. The highest average WSS was located in UP1 in the upstream PR (UP1: 15.5 (10.4–26.3) vs. others: 6.8 (3.3–14.7) Pa, p<0.001) and MLA segment in the MLA PR (MLA: 18.8 (6.0–34.3) vs. others: 6.5 (3.1–11.8) Pa, p<0.001), and the second highest WSS was located at DN1 in the downstream PR (DN1: 5.8 (3.7–11.5) vs. others: 5.5 (3.7–16.5) Pa, p=0.035). In the circumferential analysis, the average WSS at PR site was significantly higher than that of non-PR site (18.7 (7.2–35.1) vs. 13.9 (5.2–30.3) Pa, p<0.001). The incidence of L-PR, C-PR, and others were 51%, 42%, and 7%, respectively. In the L-PR, the peak WSS was most frequently observed in the lateral site (66.7%), whereas that in the C-PR was most frequently observed in the center site (70%) (Figure. 3). In the L-PR, the peak WSS value was significantly lower (44.6 (19.6–65.2) vs. 84.7 (36.6–177.5) Pa, p<0.001), and the thickness of broken fibrous cap was significantly thinner (40 (30–50) vs. 80 (67.5–100) μm, p<0.001), and the lumen area at peak WSS site was significantly larger than those of C-PR (1.5 (1.3–2.0) vs. 1.4 (1.1–1.6) mm2, p=0.008). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the presence of peak WSS at lateral site, thinner broken fibrous cap thickness, and larger lumen area at peak WSS site were independently associated with the development of the L-PR. Conclusions A combined approach with CFD simulation and morphological plaque evaluation by using OCT might be helpful to predict future ACS events induced by PR. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Luminance edge is a cue for glossiness perception based on low-luminance specular components.

The visual system is considered to employ various image cues from an object image to perceive its glossiness. It has been reported that, surprisingly, even for object images without specular highlights we can perceive glossiness by relying on low-luminance specular components (Kim, Marlow, & Anderson, 2012). This type of perceptual glossiness is referred to as dark gloss. However, it is still unclear whether dark gloss is observed commonly across various objects, and what image features are cues for dark gloss. To address these issues, we performed several psychophysical experiments. First, we measured perceived glossiness for a number of computer-graphics object images with natural specular reflection components (Full condition) and for those without high-luminance components of specular reflections (Dark condition). The results showed that dark gloss (glossiness perception in the Dark condition) was generally observed on almost all object images, while its intensity was rather different across the images. Then we psychologically or computationally measured several image features for the stimulus images, such as luminance edge number, recognizability of reflection images, and some highlight-related features, to examine their relations to perceived glossiness with a multiple regression analysis. The results demonstrated that luminance edge number was most strongly related to glossiness scores among the measured features only for object images with potent dark gloss. These results suggest that luminance edges are an effective cue for dark gloss under certain stimulus conditions.

P‐3.2: Measurement method of the Field of View for Near‐Eye Display device

We propose a novel measurement method of field of view (FOV) for near‐eye display types (Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality). This method can make use of the existing laboratory optical testing equipment, without additional components, and utilize the characteristics of light propagating along a straight line. In addition, we propose a method for calculating FOV, that is, the edge luminance is reduced to 50% of the central luminance.

3204 Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors Do Not Improve Survival in Fibrillin-1 Hypomorphic Mice with Established Aortic Aneurysm

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Drugs to attenuate aortic growth are usually not initiated in patients with Marfan syndrome until aortic dilation is already present. Therefore, we measured the impact of drugs (the renin-angiotensin system inhibitors losartan and enalapril) on survival and thoracic aortic growth in a mouse model of Marfan syndrome when extensive aortic dilation was already present. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Male and female fibrillin-1 hypomorphic (FBN1 mgR/mgR) mice (n=10-12/group) were stratified into treatment groups by aortic diameter at 6 weeks of age to ensure an equivalent average aortic diameter in each group at the start of the study. Osmotic mini pumps filled with PBS (vehicle), enalapril (2 mg/kg/d), or losartan (20 mg/kg/d) were implanted subcutaneously into mice after stratification. Mini pumps infusing drug or vehicle were replaced every 4 weeks for a total duration of 12 weeks. Wild type littermates (n=10) were infused with PBS as a negative control to the Marfan mouse model. Ascending aortic diameters from male and female FBN1 mgR/mgR mice and their wild type littermates were assessed by ultrasound every 4 weeks from 6 to 18 weeks of age. Aortic diameters were measured luminal edge to luminal edge during diastole. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: 6 week old FBN1 mgR/mgR mice exhibited significantly dilated ascending thoracic aortas at study initiation compared to their wild type sex-matched littermates (in males: FBN1 mgR/mgR = 1.87 +/− 0.07mm, wild type = 1.23 +/− 0.07mm; p <0.001) (in females: FBN1 mgR/mgR = 1.56 +/− 0.07mm, wild type = 1.18 +/− 0.07mm; p <0.001). Baseline mortality of FBN1 mgR/mgR mice infused with PBS was 36% in male and 22% in female mice at the time of study termination. Within sex-matched mgR littermates, there was no significant difference in survival between groups treated with PBS, enalapril, or losartan after 12 weeks (p=0.224 for males, p=0.094 in females). In the same groups, no significant difference in maximum ascending aortic diameter was detected after treatment for 12 weeks (in males: PBS=2.69 +/− 0.19 mm, enalapril=2.04 +/− 0.27 mm, losartan=2.42 +/− 0.28 mm; p=0.24) (in females: PBS = 1.92 +/− 0.13, enalapril=1.89 +/− 0.31, losartan=1.98 +/− 0.17; p=0.86). Furthermore, aortic diameters in the FBN1 mgR/mgR mice were found to demonstrate sexual dimorphism. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This research shows that losartan is not effective when administered after significant thoracic aortic dilation has already occurred in FBN1 mgR/mgR mice. This has important translational implications because losartan is usually not started in patients with Marfan syndrome until significant aortic dilation is already present. Therefore, more research needs to be done to determine the critical time period within which this medicine will be effective if given to patients. In addition, this research demonstrates that male FBN1mgR/mgR mice have a significantly larger aortic diameter than female FBN1mgR/mgR mice. This sexual dimorphism has recently been observed in patients with Marfan syndrome as well. Additional studies for understanding the mechanism underlying this sexual dimorphism have the potential to elucidate new therapeutic approaches for aortic disease.

The effect of luminance values of the edge between regions on figure-ground perception.

The present study examined whether luminance values of an edge between regions affect figure-ground perception. A dark-gray or light-gray region was presented on the left (or upper) or right (or lower) side of an edge. Observers reported which region was perceived as a figure. The results in the 0.2° edge width condition showed that dark-gray regions with low luminance edges were perceived as a figure significantly more often than dark-gray regions with high luminance edges. The edge luminance effect occurred, partly occurred, and did not occur when the edge widths were 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8° of visual angle, respectively. These results showed that luminance values of the edge between the regions affected figure-ground perception, and that regions with luminance values closer to that of the edge between the regions were perceived as a figure more often, but only when the edge width was narrow. The edge luminance effect occurred less often as the edge width was increased and would be attributed to similarity grouping between edge and region.

Motion-in-depth perception and prey capture in the praying mantisSphodromantis lineola

Perceiving motion-in-depth is essential to detecting approaching or receding objects, predators and prey. This can be achieved using several cues, including binocular stereoscopic cues such as changing disparity and interocular velocity differences, and monocular cues such as looming. Although these have been studied in detail in humans, only looming responses have been well characterized in insects and we know nothing about the role of stereoscopic cues and how they might interact with looming cues. We used our 3D insect cinema in a series of experiments to investigate the role of the stereoscopic cues mentioned above, as well as looming, in the perception of motion-in-depth during predatory strikes by the praying mantis Sphodromantis lineola Our results show that motion-in-depth does increase the probability of mantis strikes but only for the classic looming stimulus, an expanding luminance edge. Approach indicated by radial motion of a texture or expansion of a motion-defined edge, or by stereoscopic cues, all failed to elicit increased striking. We conclude that mantises use stereopsis to detect depth but not motion-in-depth, which is detected via looming.

Edge-Orientation Entropy Predicts Preference for Diverse Types of Man-Made Images.

We recently found that luminance edges are more evenly distributed across orientations in large subsets of traditional artworks, i.e., artworks are characterized by a relatively high entropy of edge orientations, when compared to several categories of other (non-art) images. In the present study, we asked whether edge-orientation entropy is associated with aesthetic preference in a wide variety of other man-made visual patterns and scenes. In the first (exploratory) part of the study, participants rated the aesthetic appeal of simple shapes, artificial ornamental patterns, facades of buildings, scenes of interior architecture, and music album covers. Results indicated that edge-orientation entropy predicts aesthetic ratings for these stimuli. However, the magnitude of the effect depended on the type of images analyzed, on the range of entropy values encountered, and on the type of aesthetic rating (pleasing, interesting, or harmonious). For example, edge-orientation entropy predicted about half of the variance when participants rated facade photographs for pleasing and interesting, but only for 3.5% of the variance for harmonious ratings of music album covers. We also asked whether edge-orientation entropy relates to the well-established human preference for curved over angular shapes. Our analysis revealed that edge-orientation entropy was as good or an even better predictor for the aesthetic ratings than curvilinearity. Moreover, entropy could substitute for shape, at least in part, to predict the aesthetic ratings. In the second (experimental) part of this study, we generated complex line stimuli that systematically varied in their edge-orientation entropy and curved/angular shape. Here, edge-orientation entropy was a more powerful predictor for ratings of pleasing and harmonious than curvilinearity, and as good a predictor for interesting. Again, the two image properties shared a large portion of variance between them. In summary, our results indicate that edge-orientation entropy predicts aesthetic ratings in diverse man-made visual stimuli. Moreover, the preference for high edge-orientation entropy shares a large portion of predicted variance with the preference for curved over angular stimuli.