Specific Color Research Articles

Color as the meaning-forming concept of Zhang Yimou's film "Hero"

The subject of the study is the color meaning in the film of the famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou "Hero", the conceptual understanding of color as the main semantic element of the artistic solution. The object of research is the techniques of visual solutions in cinema. The perception of color in the culture of different peoples differs in certain nuances and depends on many factors, including national traditions and historically established stereotypes. Films by Chinese, Korean, and Japanese filmmakers are interesting from the point of view of color solutions, as they differ in artistic originality and often offer the Russian audience an extraordinary semantic solution of the idea not only at the level of comprehension of the content, but also at the level of a specific color palette. The author similarly examines the color symbolism of Zhang Yimou's film "Hero". The conceptual content of the visual-figurative series, the originality of the coloristic solution of the film is comprehended. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the study of the color symbolism of Zhang Yimou's film "Hero" in the aspect of the correlation between the perception of the coloristic solution of the visual series and the conceptual content of the film. The author comes to the conclusion that despite the ambivalence of perception of a particular color in visual art, the coloristic solution is predetermined by the conceptual content of each episode, so color becomes the leading semantic concept of Zhang Yimou's film "Hero".

Computer Vision based Virtual Illustration using OpenCV

Abstract: During the COVID-19 epidemic, it has been extremely difficult to engage kids in the classroom via an online platform. Children needed a classroom that was free of dust as a result. This article describes a novel paint application that recognises hand movements and monitors hand joints using MediaPipe and OpenCV. With the use of hand gestures, this programme enables people to interact with computers in a natural way. The main objective of HCI is to enhance human-computer interaction. This study put out a method for writing in the air with your fingertips without gloves or sensors. Air writing enables us to write characters in open spaces and draw shapes with a specific colour on the fingertip. The colour marker is applied to the user's fingertip and aids the camera in recognising hand motions

Selection of Quality Gemstones Based on Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process

The suggestion in this paper tackles the uncertainty of choosing the best analysis and selection of high-quality gemstones based on multiple specific criteria of quantitative and qualitative nature. In this paper, we use the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (F-AHP) in order to make the right decision to know the quality of the gemstone. This method is based on an effective algorithm through comparisons between the characteristics of the stones and their weight. F-AHP applies in this work to select one criterion from five criteria (specific gravity, color, clarity, cleavage, and Hardness). From the outcome, we note the hat standard of gem size is not always the best standard as seen by some researchers, and we found that small-sizzled stones are sometimes better effective and more flexible than others. Through this study, we note that the method helps reduce bias in decision-making, and method the comparisons are converted into numerical values that are processed and compared within with hierarchy that is related to the fuzzy logic with the property of uncertainty. All computations are applied by MATLAB language.

Is it a Curse or a Blessing? Black Elk’s Attitude towards his Vision in Neihardt Black Elk Speaks

This paper is a detailed analysis of Black Elk’s great vision in Black Elk Speaks written and documented by John G. Neihardt. It detects Black Elk’s possible intentions behind disclosing his full vision to Neihardt for the first time. This paper tracks the sequence of events and developments changing accordingly with the vision’s progression. It discerns Black Elk’s altering perspective on the vision from resisting it to utilizing it to enlighten people. In addition, this paper lists the burdens that come with the vision and shows how they effected Black Elk mentally and physically. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the vision reflects many of the Native American cultural aspects such as associating each one of the four main directions with a specific colour. It also detects the vision’s elements similarity to ones from other foreign cultures which resulted in questioning the vision’s authenticity such as the Mandala and wheeled carts. Finally, the paper examines doubting critiques and interpretations made by critics and thinkers on the truth behind the vision.

Feature-blind attentional suppression of salient distractors.

A recent paper has reported, for the first time, that people are capable of suppressing salient singleton distractors of unknown color if the search task requires them to search for the most prevalent of several shapes in the display. We identify here several potential limitations of the earlier findings. In particular, in the reported experiments, the likelihood of a salient distractor was higher than what is typically studied, the distractor object was similar in shape to the relevant objects, only two colors were studied, the distractor was consistently a fixed shape, and the distractor was always a unique shape different from the search targets. Each of these limitations leaves open some questions about the generality of the findings. We address each of the concerns here, and show, in five experiments, that the ability to suppress distractors of unknown color is a robust finding that is not compromised by the potential limitations identified. When searching for the most prevalent of several shapes in a display, people can indeed suppress capture by otherwise-salient color singleton distractors even when their color is not known in advance (i.e., in a feature-blind manner), facilitating efficient search. The experiments confirm the ability to suppress visual elements based on second-order (e.g., a unique color) or global salience information, and not merely based on first-order (e.g., a specific color) information.

Valorization of oil well drilling cuttings as a raw material in ceramic manufacturing

This study investigates the effect of clay replacement by oil well drilling cuttings (DC) in ceramic materials manufacturing. DC was added at 0, 15, 30 and 45 wt%. The raw materials were characterized by physical, chemical, and mineralogical analyses. Ceramic specimens were produced via uniaxial pressing and sintered at a constant heating rate (5 °C/min) for 90 min at three temperatures (750, 850, or 950 °C). Then, the samples were evaluated by linear firing shrinkage, apparent specific mass, water absorption, color, and flexural strength. Ceramic materials were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD/Rietveld). Environmental risk assessment of ceramic products containing DC was investigated by leaching and solubilization tests. The results allow classifying the raw and the ceramic materials as non-hazardous and inert. Ceramics consisted mainly of quartz, illite, hematite, feldspar, primary mullite, and spinel. The sintering temperatures (from 750 up to 950 °C) and the increasing DC contents (up to 45%) directly affect the mechanical properties of the red ceramic, which are suitable to produce bricks, blocks and tiles. In the analyzed scenarios, the results indicated DC as an alternative raw material environmentally appropriate for the ceramic manufacturing.

A Case of Acquired Speech-to-Color Synesthesia following Traumatic Brain Injury. (P4-12.002)

<h3>Objective:</h3> NA <h3>Background:</h3> Synesthesia is a unique subjective phenomenon where one sensory modality elicits a perceptual experience in an unrelated sensory modality. Chromesthesia is a specific sound-to-color form of synesthesia where auditory stimuli void of color information induce color perception. Knowledge regarding the neurobiology of synesthesia is limited, posing challenges for its detection and management, thereby creating a need for greater lesion-symptom exploration. <h3>Design/Methods:</h3> We report the case of a 71-year-old previously healthy left-handed woman who developed synesthesia after suffering a traumatic head injury with subsequent holocephalic subdural haemorrhage requiring craniotomy. The course was complicated by focal status epilepticus with imaging showing cortical edema. Soon after discharge, patient reported symptoms of seeing colors projecting out of people’s mouth during oral speech, suggestive of chromesthesia. The colors were vivid in intensity at onset but would rapidly dissipate into vapour appearance. During neuropsychological testing, patient described that specific colors were associated with different words and were repeatable. For example, the word “the” was associated with color blue. Interestingly, her symptoms were specific to expressive language and not reproducible with music, singing or other non-verbal sounds such as dogs barking. Viewing videos of people speaking would trigger color but not if the videos contained music, singing or other non-verbal sounds. Patient reported listening to music as a therapeutic intervention when surrounded by multiple conversations in a crowded environment. <h3>Results:</h3> The case shows acquired chromesthesia presenting with word-specific color changes induced solely by oral speech elicited by others and not by other non-verbal sounds, including music. <h3>Conclusions:</h3> We report the first case of acquired human oral speech-to-color synesthesia following Traumatic Brain Injury. Acquired forms of synesthesia tend to result from drug intoxication or neurological disorders, including injury. We discuss our patient’s acquired form of chromesthesia in the context of multiple theories associated with multimodal integration in the adult brain. <b>Disclosure:</b> Dr. Mahendra has nothing to disclose. Dr. Parashos has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wagner has received personal compensation in the range of $50,000-$99,999 for serving as an Expert Witness for Insurance. Dr. Gleichgerrcht has nothing to disclose.

Smell the Rainbow: Olfactory Intensity Changes Color, not Luminescence in a Synesthete (P2-9.011)

<h3>Objective:</h3> To inform how odor concentration may change color perception in a synesthete. <h3>Background:</h3> In a synesthete, different concentrations of the same odor inducing different colors has not heretofore been described. <h3>Design/Methods:</h3> <h3>Case Study:</h3> This 27-year-old right-handed single male presented with a lifelong history of odor-color synesthesia. Each odor is associated with a specific color. While odors induce perception of color, colors do not induce perception of odors. <h3>Results:</h3> Amyl acetate in concentrations diluted in USP grade mineral oil to 10%, 1%, 0.1% 0.01% (Moberg, 2003; Doty, 1995) was presented randomly six times. This demonstrated retest reliability as well as change in color as identified on the Hexadecimal Real Color Wheel (Jusko, 2022), as opposed to change in brightness, with the most intense, 10% and 1%: yellow; 0.1%: orchid; and 0.01%: light pink. This revealed change in intensity correlated with change in color as opposed to change in luminescence. <h3>Conclusions:</h3> Some odorants, when presented with higher concentration, induce perception of entirely different aromas, as occurs with hydrogen sulfide (Hirsch, 1996). This would be consistent with each percept of odor inducing its own color. Peradventure, the increased intensity of each of the odors may decrease the perception of brightness or luminance (Zellner, 2008). This, minimal but still discreet, well-defined inducers, precipitating superimposition of specific colors, may be viewed as a variant of synesthesia, a super-synesthete. This suggests the presence of an underlying synesthetic network hyperconnectivity with the V4 occipital lobe, the primary color area of the visual cortex (Gennaro, 2021), and the hippocampal representation of memory of aroma (White, 2015), or olfactory lobe (orbital frontal cortex and insular cortex) (Mauric, 2013), and V4 occipital lobe hyperconnection (Hubbard, 2005). Further exploration of such connections may reveal greater understanding of olfactory and visual system. <b>Disclosure:</b> Miss Brar has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hirsch has nothing to disclose.

Three-Dimensional-Printed Coral-like Structures as a Habitat for Reef Fish

Coral reefs are three-dimensional biogenic structures that provide habitat for plenty of marine organisms; yet, coral reefs are deteriorating worldwide. Hence, it is essential to identify suitable substitutes for such coral services. This study examines reef fishes’ behavior and reactions to three-dimensional-printed (3DP) corals based on scanned Stylophora pistillata, as well as modified 3DP models. In particular, fishes’ unresponsiveness to the color, shape, morphology, and material of 3DP models both in vitro and in situ experiments was investigated. Coral reef fishes responded to the 3DP corals and demonstrated their usage in a range of services. Moreover, a greater number of fish species interacted more with 3DP models than they did with live corals. Furthermore, specific reef fish species, such as Sea Goldies (Pseudanthias squamipinnis), showed a preference for specific 3DP coral color, and other species demonstrated preferences for specific 3DP model shapes. The current study results show that three-dimensional-printed coral models can substitute for live corals for certain types of reef fish services.

The difference in leaf color quality of Cotinus coggygria during the coloration peak period affected by soil and topographic heterogeneity

Leaf color quality that measures the gorgeous degree of plant’s foliage with a specific color during a coloration period, has been related to the biological function of colored plants and the development of ecotourism. The difference in leaf color quality of Cotinus coggygria and its key environmental factors during the coloration peak period in a karst area were explored based on leaf color parameters (i.e., L*, a*, b*, and c*), pigment indices (i.e., chlorophylls, carotenoid, anthocyanin, myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol), and environment variables (i.e., soil properties, topography, and vegetation community characteristic) by principle component analysis, random forest model, and hierarchical cluster analysis. The results indicated that the leaf color quality index based on the minimum data set including the total chlorophyll, anthocyanin, and quercetin could accurately reveal the difference in leaf color quality of Cotinus coggygria in our study area. The coefficient of variation in leaf color quality index was 25.47%, which suggested that the leaf color quality of Cotinus coggygria had spatial heterogeneity. This heterogeneity was closely related to soil properties (e.g., total phosphorus, total potassium, and available potassium) and topographic variables (e.g., slope height and elevation). Specifically, the leaf color quality of Cotinus coggygria was higher in the middle- and low-elevation areas with less soil nutrients (i.e., total phosphorus, total potassium, and available potassium) and higher slope height, but lower in the high-altitude areas with more soil nutrients and lower slope height. Moreover, the leaf color quality of Cotinus coggygria in shrubbery was higher than that in mixed forest, suggesting that the vegetation community characteristic is another important factor of the leaf color quality in the study area. These results can provide a theoretical basis to quantify the difference in leaf color quality of colored plants during the coloration peak period and improve the ornamental value of colored plants in rocky desertification areas.

Substrate colour guides turquoise killifish's (Nothobranchius furzeri) choice of preferred spawning habitat.

Turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) is a promising new model species used in biomedical and ecological laboratory experiments, and should be kept under optimal conditions to ensure fish welfare and the quality of science. While the popularity of this model species is rapidly increasing, we need to improve our understanding of how the species interacts with its environment in order to optimise its husbandry. Specifically, turquoise killifish are substrate spawners that bury their eggs in the sediment which can be accommodated under captive conditions, but it is not yet known whether or not turquoise killifish have a preference for a specific sediment colour. Here, we performed a laboratory experiment in which fish could choose between white, orange, and black sand for spawning, colours of which are relevant in both laboratory and field conditions. We assessed their preference in the context of single breeding pairs, as well as in a social group setting. Additionally, we also assessed preference of individuals for a white vs. black background in a non-mating context. Single breeding pairs deposited over 3.5× more eggs in black compared to orange or white sand. Similarly, fish in social groups deposited over 3.5× more eggs in black compared to orange sand, which in turn was over 2× times higher than that in white sand. Fish showed a slight preference for the black compared to the white zone in a non-mating context but this did not correlate with substrate choice during the spawning tests. The results suggest that turquoise killifish select their preferred spawning location based on the colour of the substrate. These findings contribute to our understanding of the species' biology and can help to guide good welfare and scientific practice. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PGF-BIQA: Blind image quality assessment via probability multi-grained cascade forest

Blind image quality assessment (BIQA) aims to automatically predict the perceptual quality of a digital image without accessing its pristine reference and plays an important role in computer vision and image analysis. In fact, the difference in the subjective perception of image quality by evaluators greatly affected quality scores of the images. Aiming at the problem that the existing models cannot take into account the subjective perception differences in people, a blind image quality assessment algorithm via probability gcForest (PGF-BIQA) is proposed. Specifically, we use five qualitative labels to replace the specific quality score and extract image color and texture features to represent image quality. Unlike the widely used neural network, gcForest is ensemble by decision trees which randomly extract different features of various modes to learn the relationship between label and quality features. Therefore, a probability gcForest is designed, combining the frequency probability model and the gcForest, using probability confidence to represent the multiple decision modes results, and describing the subjective perception differences in evaluators. Next, through quality anchors and probability confidences of different classes, PGF-BIQA achieves image quality assessment. Moreover, this method proposes an image classification method that resolves the problem of an unbalanced number of images of different classes and the calculation process of the algorithm is simple and effective. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed method is highly consistent with human perception and outperforms many state-of-the-art BIQA algorithms.

Microwave Drying Modelling of Stevia rebaudiana Leaves Using Artificial Neural Network and Its Effect on Color and Biochemical Attributes

Stevia rebaudiana has grown in popularity and consumption across the world as an excellent natural sweetener due to its 300 times sweetness than sugar. Since Stevia leaves are often used in their dried state, the drying process has an inevitable effect on the attributes of finished product. In this study, Stevia leaves were microwave dried at five different levels of powers ranging from 180 to 900 W to evaluate the influence of power levels on moisture ratio (MR), drying rate and time, effective moisture diffusivity, specific energy consumption (SEC), color, and biochemical characteristics. Among the five selected thin layer models for evaluating the drying behavior, the semiempirical page model described the drying kinetics very well with R2 &gt; 0.997. The effective diffusivity increased from 3.834 × 10 − 11 to 1.997 × 10 − 10 m2/s with increasing microwave power, while SEC first increased till 320 W to a value of 9.77 MJ/kg and then followed a decreasing trend. Furthermore, multilayer feed forward (MLF) artificial neural network (ANN) using backpropagation algorithm was used to predict the moisture ratio of Stevia leaves during microwave drying. The result showed that the ANN model with 15 neurons in 1 hidden layer could predict the MR with a high R2 value (0.999). Thus, ANN modelling can successfully be used as an effective tool for predicting drying kinetics of samples. Furthermore, the color properties showed significant differences between fresh and dried samples except for the hue angle, and the variation in their values was not affected by the microwave dryer’s power output. At 720 W power level, the highest content of stevioside (11.84 mg/g) and rebaudioside A (7.11 mg/g) along with maximum retention of ascorbic acid (∼86%) was observed, while the highest total phenol content (56.98 mg GAE/g) and antioxidant capacity (74.22%) was reported in microwave dried samples at 900 W.

Disinfection and Isotonic Drinks' Influence on Hardness and Color Stability of Ethylene-Vinyl-Acetate Copolymer Mouthguards Used in Martial Arts: An In Vitro Study.

This in vitro study aimed to evaluate the hardness and color change of an ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) material for mouthguards after exposition to different cleaning agent solutions and isotonic drinks. Four hundred samples were prepared and divided into four equinumerous groups (n = 100), in which there were 25 samples from each color of EVA (red, green, blue and white). The hardness, using the digital durometer, and the color coordinates (CIE L*a*b*), using the digital colorimeter, were measured before the first exposition and after 3 months of exposition to spray disinfection and incubation in the oral cavity temperature, or immersion in isotonic drinks. The values of Shore A hardness (HA) and color change (ΔE-calculated by Euclidean distance) were statistically analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, multiple comparison ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis and appropriate post-hoc tests. Statistically significant changes in color and hardness between the tested groups were demonstrated after the use of agents predestined for disinfecting the surface of mouthguards on the tested samples. There were no statistically significant differences in color and hardness between the groups immersed in isotonic sport drinks potentially consumed by competitors practicing combat sports using mouthguards. Despite the changes in color and hardness after the use of disinfectants, the deviations were minor and limited to specific colors of the EVA plates. The intake of isotonic drinks practically did not change either the color or the hardness of the samples, regardless of the tested color of the EVA plates.

Intraoperative Fluorescein Angiography Can Efficiently Identify Biomarkers and Guide Surgical Decision-Making.

We sought to develop an efficient method for fluorescein angiography (FA) during digitally assisted vitreoretinal surgery (DAVS). A 485-nm bandpass filter was placed into the filter holder of the accessory light sources of the Constellation Vision System with steel modified washers to produce an exciter source. A barrier filter was placed into the blank slot of a switchable laser filter with a 535-nm bandpass filter and another washer or created digitally with a specific color channel using NGENUITY software version 1.4. Fluorescein, 250 to 500 mg, was then injected intravenously during retinal surgery. These fluorescence patterns accurately detect many fluorescein angiography biomarkers, such as determination of vascular filling times, ischemia, neovascularization, shunt vessels, microaneurysms, and leakage into the vitreous. This enhanced surgical visualization permitted intervention in real time such as laser or diathermy to residual microvascular abnormalities after delamination of retinal neovascularization as well as heavier panretinal laser placement in areas of retinal capillary dropout to relatively preserve areas of more intact retinal microcirculation. The authors of this study are the first to report an efficient method that permits high-resolution detection of many classic FA biomarkers such as during DAVS to enhance surgical visualization and intervention in real time.

Visual Signs at Sociable Place Entrances: User Perceptions and Preferences

This study aims to determine which signs are cognitively sufficient to convince the viewer to enter a social place, through the integration of semiotics and design. Photographs of 6 social places were obtained through personal photographs. A semiotic model of entrances was created and qualitative data were analyzed. An online survey was used to find out the perceived effectiveness of signs influencing customer decisions. A total of 595 respondents from all over the world responded to the questionnaire. Chi-square analysis was used for statistical analysis for differences between countries and age groups. Results of this study showed that specific colors, lights, transparency, right symbols, large scaled forms and gold lettering on black background raise the visibility of social place entrances and convince customers to enter the place and explore further. According to color preferences of countries, differing from previous literature; black or gray tones followed by red was preferred in Turkey and Cyprus. Red was the most preferred color in the The U.S.A., Middle East and Far East. In order to convince the customers to enter sociable places; this study has pointed out the importance of right signs to be used at sociable place entrances considering the different cultural connotations.

Coordinated microRNA/mRNA Expression Profiles Reveal Unique Skin Color Regulatory Mechanisms in Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus).

The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) has been increasingly popular in the aquaculture market in China in recent years. In the breeding process of Andrias davidianus, we found that some albino individuals were extremely rare and could not be inherited stably, which severely limits their commercialization in the aquaculture market. In this study, we performed transcriptome and small RNA (sRNA) sequencing analyses in the skin samples of wild-type (WT) and albino (AL) Andrias davidianus. In total, among 5517 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 2911 DEGs were down-regulated in AL, including almost all the key genes involved in melanin formation. A total of 25 miRNAs were differentially expressed in AL compared to WT, of which 17 were up-regulated. Through the integrated analysis, no intersection was found between the target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs and the key genes for melanin formation. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analyses on DEGs showed that these genes involved multiple processes relevant to melanin synthesis and the key signal pathway MAPK. Interestingly, the transcription factors SOX10 and PAX3 and the Wnt signaling pathway that play a key role in other species were not included, while the other two transcription factors in the SOX family, SOX21 and SOX7, were included. After analyzing the key genes for melanin formation, it was interesting to note an alternative splicing form of the MITF in WT and a critical mutation of the SLC24A5 gene in AL, which might be the main reason for the skin color change of Andrias davidianus. The results contributed to understanding the molecular mechanism of skin pigmentation in Andrias davidianus and accelerating the acquisition process of individuals with specific body colors by genetic means.

Brightness illusions evoke pupil constriction preceded by a primary visual cortex response in rats.

The mind affects the body via central nervous system (CNS) control of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). In humans, one striking illustration of the "mind-body" connection is that illusions, subjectively perceived as bright, drive pupil constriction. The CNS network driving this pupil response is unknown and requires an animal model for investigation. However, the pupil response to this illusion has long been thought to occur only in humans. Here, we report that the same brightness illusion that evokes pupil constriction in humans also does so in rats. We surveyed the role of most of rat cortex in this "mind-body" connection by recording cortex-wide EEG. These recordings revealed that, compared to a luminance-matched control stimulus, the illusion of brightness for a specific stimulus color and size, evoked a larger response in primary visual cortex (V1) and not in secondary visual, parietal, or frontal cortex. The response preceded pupil constriction suggesting a potential causal role of V1 on the pupil. Our results provide evidence that this "mind-body" connection is not confined to humans and that V1 may be part of a mammalian CNS network for bodily reactions to illusions.

Early detection of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease using eye tracking.

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are known to exhibit visuospatial processing impairment, as reflected in eye movements from the early stages of the disease. We investigated whether the pattern of gaze exploration during visual tasks could be useful for detecting cognitive decline at the earliest stage. Sixteen AD patients (age: 79.1 ± 7.9 years, Mini Mental State Examination [MMSE] score: 17.7 ± 5.3, mean ± standard deviation) and 16 control subjects (age: 79.4 ± 4.6, MMSE score: 26.9 ± 2.4) participated. In the visual memory task, subjects memorized presented line drawings for later recall. In the visual search tasks, they searched for a target Landolt ring of specific orientation (serial search task) or color (pop-out task) embedded among arrays of distractors. Using video-oculography, saccade parameters, patterns of gaze exploration, and pupil size change during task performance were recorded and compared between AD and control subjects. In the visual memory task, the number of informative regions of interest (ROIs) fixated was significantly reduced in AD patients compared to control subjects. In the visual search task, AD patients took a significantly longer time and more saccades to detect the target in the serial but not in pop-out search. In both tasks, there was no significant difference in the saccade frequency and amplitude between groups. On-task pupil modulation during the serial search task was decreased in AD. The number of ROIs fixated in the visual memory task and search time and saccade numbers in the serial search task differentiated both groups of subjects with high sensitivity, whereas saccade parameters of pupil size modulation were effective in confirming normal cognition from cognitive decline with high specificity. Reduced fixation on informative ROIs reflected impaired attentional allocation. Increased search time and saccade numbers in the visual search task indicated inefficient visual processing. Decreased on-task pupil size during visual search suggested decreased pupil modulation with cognitive load in AD patients, reflecting impaired function of the locus coeruleus. When patients perform the combination of these tasks to visualize multiple aspects of visuospatial processing, cognitive decline can be detected at an early stage with high sensitivity and specificity and its progression be evaluated.

Daily meals in context: A quantitative analysis of elementary school students' drawings

To investigate school-age children's perspectives on food and nutrition, we pilot tested a method to quantify and analyze crayon drawings collected from students in health education classes at two elementary schools in Fukushima, Japan. Included were 28 students in a mixed class of first and second graders and 26 students in a fourth-grade class. Specific foods, general shapes, and color choices in children's drawings were entered into a spreadsheet and analyzed quantitatively. From first- and second-graders' data, co-occurrence network analysis put meals into three groups: at home, eating out, and lunch boxes. Among fourth graders, co-occurrence network analysis called attention to the cucumber, noteworthy for being a local agricultural product. In addition, students who drew more side dishes also drew more staple foods and main dishes (p = 0.04), used more colors (p = 0.006), and showed satisfaction with their community (p = 0.04). These results suggest that students' understanding of eating was centered on the places where they eat and that they valued regional specialty products. Furthermore, the drawing of side dishes was indicative of a balanced diet, which in turn was associated with higher satisfaction with their community. Our trial indicates that children's drawings can be a useful tool for adults to grasp children's understanding of health-related information in daily living.