Stable Image Research Articles

Optimization of the image contrast for the developing fetal brain using 3D radial VIBE sequence in 3\xa0T magnetic resonance imaging

BackgroundFaster and motion robust magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences are desirable in fetal brain MRI. T1-weighted images are essential for evaluating fetal brain development. We optimized the radial volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) sequence for qualitative T1-weighted images of the fetal brain with improved image contrast and reduced motion sensitivity.Materials and methodsThis was an institutional review board-approved prospective study. Thirty-five pregnant subjects underwent fetal brain scan at 3 Tesla MRI. T1-weighted images were acquired using a 3D radial VIBE sequence with flip angles of 6º, 9º, 12º, and 15º. T1-weighted images of Cartesian VIBE sequence were acquired in three of the subjects. Qualitative assessments including image quality and motion artifact severity were evaluated. The image contrast ratio between gray and white matter were measured. Interobserver reliability and intraobserver repeatability were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).ResultsInterobserver reliability and intraobserver repeatability universally revealed almost perfect agreement (ICC > 0.800). Significant differences in image quality were detected in basal ganglia (P = 0.023), central sulcus (P = 0.028), myelination (P = 0.007) and gray matter (P = 0.023) among radial VIBE with flip angles 6º, 9º, 12º, 15º. Image quality at the 9º flip angle in radial VIBE was generally better than flip angle of 15º. Radial VIBE sequence with 9º flip angle of gray matter was significantly different by gestational age (GA) before and after 28 weeks (P = 0.036). Quantified image contrast was significantly different among different flip angles, consistent with qualitative analysis of image quality.ConclusionsThree-dimensional radial VIBE with 9º flip angle provides optimal, stable T1-weighted images of the fetal brain. Fetal brain structure and development can be evaluated using high-quality images obtained using this angle. However, different scanners will achieve different TRs and so the FA should be re-optimized each time a new protocol is employed.

Deep Learning Analyses of Brain MRI to Identify Sustained Attention Deficit in Treated Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Pilot Study.

Persistent sustained attention deficit (SAD) after continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment is a source of quality of life and occupational impairment in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, persistent SAD is difficult to predict in patients initiated on CPAP treatment. We performed secondary analyses of brain magnetic resonance (MR) images in treated OSA participants, using deep learning, to predict SAD. 26 middle-aged men with CPAP use of more than 6 hours daily and MR imaging were included. SAD was defined by psychomotor vigilance task lapses of more than 2. 17 participants had SAD and 9 were without SAD. A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model was used for classifying the MR images into +SAD and -SAD categories. The CNN model achieved an accuracy of 97.02±0.80% in classifying MR images into +SAD and -SAD categories. Assuming a threshold of 90% probability for the MR image being correctly classified, the model provided a participant-level accuracy of 99.11±0.55% and a stable image level accuracy of 97.45±0.63%. Deep learning methods, such as the proposed CNN model, can accurately predict persistent SAD based on MR images. Further replication of these findings will allow early initiation of adjunctive pharmacologic treatment in high-risk patients, along with CPAP, to improve quality of life and occupational fitness. Future augmentation of this approach with explainable artificial intelligence methods may elucidate the neuroanatomical areas underlying persistent SAD to provide mechanistic insights and novel therapeutic targets.

"Some of my Customers […] Take off Their Rolex Prior to a Client Meeting" Luxury Display at Work and the Social (Re)Construction of the Organizational Image

In this study, we follow-up on the social construction of an organizational image focusing on the role of luxury watches worn at work. In this way, we discuss the crucial role of employees' aesthetic appearance as a projector of organizational values to internal and external audiences. Drawing on the theoretical lenses of gestalt theory and the literature on aesthetics of labour, we examine the dynamics of luxury display in organizational settings via a qualitative approach, a netnography based on 193 topical entries. The netnography was guided by a pre-study conducting interviews with high level experts from the luxury watch industry. Our findings show that the display of a luxury watch at work can contribute to a harmonious organizational image. However, professional settings exist where the watch triggers an inconsistency in an employee's appearance relative to the organization that is being represented. Thus, disturbing the overall organizational image. Adopting a gestalt theoretical perspective to this social construction process, we define the "organizational gestalt": as a dynamic projection of organizational values informed and conveyed by aesthetic, organizational representations (in this study: employees' wristwatches). We theorize that a gestalt-switch – a conversion of a previously stable organizational image – occurs when an employee's appearance projects values that conflict with the established aesthetic, organizational representations. As a consequence, the authenticity and credibility of the employee and the organization may suffer.

Book topic in the novel by F. M. Dostoevsky “The Brothers Karamazov”

The article is devoted to the study of the poetics of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “The Brothers Karamazov”. This problematic area, despite active research attention, still contains a huge potential for further discoveries. The author focuses attention on the actual problem of subject-material representation of artistic space. This work aims is to study book topics, to identify a system of relationships between stable images and motives, which are represented in the text as the lexeme “book” and its derivatives. Based on predecessors’ studies (A. P. Vlaskin, G. Ya. Galagan, L. V. Karasev, N. A. Makaricheva), the author puts forward and defines the idea of the functioning of the “ontological scheme” of the plot, which is formed by the subject-symbol “book”. Despite the relative paucity of plot situations with the point of presence of the book, a wide branching of the scheme is revealed, because of the principle of duality inherent in Dostoevsky’s poetics as well. In conclusion, the author argues about the significance of this “ontological scheme” for understanding the idea of the novel in connection with the breadth of the semantics contained in it: knowledge, memory, enlightenment, change, “second birth”. The article consists of four parts, which examine in detail the functioning of the book topic in different plot fragments: in the preface “From the Author”, in the narrator’s reports about the biography of Smerdyakov and Krasotkin, in the third meeting of Ivan Karamazov with Smerdyakov. The author uses the structural-semiotic method of studying the text with elements of mythopoetic and ontological approaches.

A Novel Consistency Calibration Method for DMSP-OLS Nighttime Stable Light Time-Series Images

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Line-Scan System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime stable light (NSL) products have been widely employed for studying human activities and urbanization. However, due to the lack of on-board calibration of the OLS sensors, narrow radiation range, and different satellite platforms, the NSL products suffer from several limitations such as saturation effect and inconsistency problem. To solve these issues, this study proposed a spatio-temporal adaptive pseudo-invariant pixel (STAPIP) scheme for NSL time-series consistency calibration based on eight-year DMSP-OLS radiance calibrated (RC) products. The unsaturated pixels were calibrated with the temporal adaptive pseudo-invariant pixel (TAPIP) method, while the saturated pixels were calibrated with the spatial adaptive PIP (SAPIP) method. To verify the proposed method's effectiveness, we applied it in China and compared its results with the results of several existing NSL calibration methods. Then we further analyzed the correlations between the calibrated NSL time-series images and several important socio-economic indicators, such as population, gross domestic product (GDP), and electricity consumption (EC). Results showed that the NSL time-series images calibrated by the STAPIP method have the best consistency and highest correlation with socio-economic indicators at both provincial and city levels. Thus, this study can provide an accurate and stable NSL time-series product for research on human activities and the urbanization process.

Историко-краеведческая тема в интернет-изданиях (на примере материалов "Томского обзора", 2018–2020 гг.)

The article deals with the specifics of the coverage of the historical and local history topic in online publications using the materials of Tomskiy Obzor as an example. The thematic diversity of materials, historical periods covered, genre picture, work with information sources are analyzed. The media are one of the main channels for broadcasting historical knowledge to a mass audience. Historical materials on the federal agenda often take on a journalistic tinge and serve to express a position within the framework of socio-political speeches. In the regions, local history materials are also gaining more and more popularity – many online publications start special sections, and publications covering the historical past often become the most read. The aim of this study is to identify the specifics of the coverage of historical and local history topics in online publications. The material for the study is 178 local history texts of Tomskiy Obzor published in 2018–2020. The work uses methods of genre research, genre analysis, and content analysis. The study concludes that in 2018–2020 Tomskiy Obzor’s local history materials focused mainly on pre-revolutionary history. Despite the prevalence of a neutral position in relation to historical events, the materials created a certain stable and contradictory image of the historical past. The materials of the publication covered both the tourist side of history, characteristic of the media, with architecture, industrial development, enterprises, patrons and merchants, and the secret life of the city, showing robberies, everyday life with pubs, prostitution, and domestic violence. Another conclusion is that local history materials are often full-fledged historical studies with many welldeveloped historical sources, which ensures their exclusivity. It is through the study of a large number of documentary sources that the functions of local history materials are formed: most of the texts are aimed at the audience’s cognitive interest. Despite the prevalence of information journalism genres, a large number of photojournalism genres appear in online publications. There are also analytical and literary journalistic materials on historical and local history topics. The key difference between online publications is the emergence of modern multimedia genre forms, in particular longreads, which are characterized by a deep study of the covered topic, as well as experimental formats.

Personality transformations of the modern age: from a postmodern individual to a spiritually mature citizen

The study includes the analysis of the spiritual foundations of modern socio-political events in Ukraine and the world in the context of personality transformations of the XXI century. Given that today our country is at the epicenter of awareness and defense of the core values of mankind, this article is primarily about the urgency of protecting universal spiritual values and the best, most important features of a worthy personality in the civilized world. The spiritual values of mankind have crystallized throughout historical practice and are preserved in the Holy Books of all nations of the world. They are the same for all nations and ethnic groups, although due to certain odious historical conflicts and due to certain odious leaders, these values have been distorted and discouraged in the minds of entire nations lost in the paths of history. The article considers the socio-ethical aspects of personality transformations of today. It continues with a review of the specific features of a modern individual belonging to a developed civilized society, which has long been free of acute social problems and international conflicts. The author provides a comparative analysis of the characteristics of a man of the civilized world and a zombie person of the totalitarian regime. It is emphasized in the study that today, in extremely difficult circumstances, Ukrainians are confidently holding on the edge of a cliff dividing the world’s civilized and barbaric territories. The whole united Ukrainian people, our youth are confident in those universal human values that we protect at a heavy price. By now, the civilized world has woken up from its complacent lethargy, realizing the dangers of an unreflective crowd. Ukrainian soldiers, volunteers, politicians - all Ukrainians rose to fight for the defense of their own ethno-national achievements and values, as well as for the restoration of the universal axiological core, for freedom and democracy. The latest experience of Ukrainian citizens has gradually reduced the relevance of relative postmodern worldview models. Ukrainians have restored a transparent, stable and reliable moral image of the representative of modern youth: an intellectual and optimistic patriot.

Pulsar identification based on generative adversarial network and residual network

The search for pulsars is an important area of study in modern astronomy. The amount of collected pulsar data is increasing exponentially as the performance of modern radio telescopes improves, necessitating the improvement of the original pulsar search methods. Artificial intelligence techniques are currently being used in pulsar candidate identification tasks. However, improving the accuracy of pulsar candidate identification using artificial intelligence techniques remains a challenge. Because the amount of collected data is so large, the number of real pulsar samples is very limited, which leads to a serious sample imbalance problem. Many existing methods ignore this issue, making it difficult for the model to reach the optimal solution. A framework combining generative adversarial networks and residual networks is proposed to greatly alleviate the problem of sample inequality. The framework first generates stable pulsar images using generative adversarial networks and then designs a deep neural network model based on residual networks to identify pulsar candidates using intra-block and inter-block residual connectivity. The ResNet approach has a better ability to fit the data than the CNN approach and can achieve the extraction of features with more classification ability with a smaller dataset. Meanwhile, the data expanded by the high-quality simulated samples generated by the generative adversarial network can provide richer identification features and improve the identification accuracy for pulsar candidates.

РОЛЬ ІНТЕГРАЦІЇ МИСТЕЦЬКИХ ДИСЦИПЛІН У РОЗВИТКУ ДУХОВНОГО ПОТЕНЦІАЛУ МОЛОДІ

The article considers the integration relationship of Arts in the formation of personality, the main positions of the development of human spirituality, the ability of young people to evaluate the processes of individual formation and growth. It is the perception of the environment, the presence of positive and negative processes in the formation and readiness for individual rethinking of reality that is at the heart of a person’s artistic consciousness and spirituality. The main component of enriching the moral life of young people is the influence of stable artistic images that serve as the basis for its further development. The ability of a person to rethink information, determine the main artistic, spiritual, and cultural values emphasize the principles of the formed personality and individuality. Today, artistic educational institutions act as a guide in the formation of the individual and its spiritual and cultural development. Through the integration capabilities of art disciplines, taking into account various means and methods, the student’s spiritual, cultural, artistic, and personal worldview is developed, deepened, and formed. The formation of personality occurs through the image of creative imagination and the possibility of creating artistic images, which indicates the formed worldview of a young person. The ability to perceive any environment and turn it into positive creativity indicates its spirituality and maturity. Spirituality is based on a multicomponent component, which can include: culture as the embodiment of many aspects, religion, art, value orientations, personality formation, scientific knowledge and philosophy. We can base the formation of an artistic image on the ability to rethink what we have seen, heard, read, and analyze a work of art as a whole. We refer to the process of mental and mental activity of a creative person as listening to music and reading literary works. Through word and sound, using metaphor and emotional content, images are created, sensations are synthesized, and a work of art is born. An image based on a piece of music gets a more emotional color, because it is enhanced by the already ready-made emotional content of music, which helps to choose the appropriate color scheme, or form a more expressive, hyperbolized look. Integrative principles of teaching allow students of art disciplines to create an appropriate attitude to the environment, cultural values and contribute to the development of the spiritual potential of artistic youth. We studied the features of personality formation, the component of spirituality and the means of creating an artistic image. In the process of studying art disciplines, it is possible to draw up the basic principles of creative activity of young people in higher education institutions. So, various artistic disciplines are able to influence the formation of an artistic image by means of painting and graphics through musical and literary works.

Construction of a Phantom for Image Quality Evaluation in PET/MRI System.

Background: There is no phantom for image quality test in magnetic resonance imaging combined with positron emission tomography systems (PET/MRI systems). In MRI, radioactive water phantom containing 2-deoxy-2-[F-18] fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG) cannot be used due to the dielectric effect. Even for phantoms filled with MR-available solutions, the source current of the RF coil is strongly disturbed as the diameter of the phantom increases. Stable MR images require proper phantom size and solution selection. Previous reports have not provided these details. Other than that, few existing phantoms evaluate negative signals such as N-13 ammonia (13N-NH3). We created a phantom for PET/MRI system for image quality test. Methods: The phantom for the PET/MRI system was assembled in two portions. One portion is a signal part containing 18F-FDG radioactive water. The other portion is filled with polyvinyl alcohol glue to construct MRI image to generate µ-map. The glue part is allowed to rewrite the table position overlaps with the first layer, and attenuation correction is performed. Signals are set as positive (4 times and twice higher than background radioactivity) and negative (no radioactivity) columns with different sizes (15 mm φ and 7 mm φ). The PET images with X-ray computed tomography-based attenuation correction (CT-AC) and MRI-AC were evaluated by %-contrasts, variation and uniformity. Results: The %-contrasts of the positive shallow signals with PET/magnetic resonance (MR) and PET/CT were 41.8% and 45.4%, respectively. And it of the positive deep signals with PET/MR and PET/CT were 40.7% and 44.9%. On the other hand, the %-contrasts of the negative shallow signals with PET/MR and PET/CT were 62.3% and 65.6%, respectively. And it of the negative deep signals with PET/MR and PET/CT were 60.7% and 63.7%. Moreover, the % Nj index of uniformity was 2.0% on PET/MRI images and 0.34% on PET/CT images. For negative signals that assume a decrease in myocardial blood flow, The image quality of MR-AC was almost the same as that of CT-AC. Consistency between the images after CT-AC and MR-AC correction were confirmed, and in particular, a stable MR-AC µ-map was obtained in the phantom study. Conclusion: The suggested prototype phantom for generating µ-map is reasonable and useful for evaluating PET/MRI image quality, based on the present standard.

Automatic Color Detection-Based Method Applied to Sentinel-1 SAR Images for Snow Avalanche Debris Monitoring

In this study, we develop a novel method to automatically detect areas of snow avalanche debris using a color space segmentation technique applied to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image time series through January 2018 in the Swiss Alps. Debris avalanche zones are detected assuming that these areas are characterized by a significant and localized increase in SAR signal relative to the surrounding environment. We undertake a sensitivity study by calculating debris products by varying the D-M reference images (a stable reference image taken several weeks before the event). We examine the results according to the direction of the orbit, the characteristics of the terrain (slope, altitude, orientation), and also by evaluating the relevance of the detection with the help of an independent SPOT database by Hafner and Buhler <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">[1]</xref> including 18 737 avalanche events. Small avalanches are not detected by SAR images, and depending on the orientation of the terrain some avalanches are not detected by either the ascending or the descending orbit. The detection results vary with the reference image; best detection results are obtained with some selected individual dates with almost 70&#x0025; of verified avalanche events using the ascending orbit.

The Intonational System of Azerbaijani Modes: a Study with the Use of Computer Technologies

The perception of Azerbaijani frets when performed on evenly tempered instruments is based on the property of human consciousness to generalize different phenomena, recognizing their common meaning. Azerbaijani frets form a stable image in consciousness, and the pitch of the 12-step uniform temperament completely determines the individuality of the frets and their differentiation. Acoustic measurements related to the pitch intonation of Azerbaijani music (both traditional and compositional), with the study of their microintonation schemes, as well as the timbre characteristics of Azerbaijani folk instruments have so far remained out of the field of view of researchers and have not been the subject of special study. The article deals with issues related to the intonation system of Azerbaijani frets, with their existence in contemporary musical culture, cites the field of cognitive musicology, which allows us to present the intonation system of Azerbaijani frets in the form of a cognitive structure, which has significant prospects for their implementation in the field of contemporary musical research with the involvement of music computer technologies. A particularly important aspect is associated with an adequate representation of the range of problems under consideration in the system of contemporary musical education, which is also possible and very productive when using modern music computer technologies.

Фольклорное произведение: правомерность использования термина

The purpose of the article is to provide essential justifications for the validity of the definition of “folklore work”. The main sources were the works of philosophers, culturologists, art historians, and folklorists in the field of definitional analysis of the “work of art” category and directly folklore texts. The research methodology includes a structural and functional approach to the analysis of the features of the existence of artistic texts, a phenomenological and anthropological interpretation of folklore artifacts with the inclusion of elements of textual analysis. The question of terminology in the Humanities is quite acute. The use of terms without an exact designation of their subject field can lead not only to discrepancies, but also to significant errors in understanding the essence of phenomena. Moreover, this may lead to claims that the use of certain terms is incorrect. This is the case with the term “folklore work”, which is used in scientific terms. A number of studies, primarily of art criticism, deny the validity of its application on the grounds that the status of stability of works of art contradicts the variant character of folklore texts. This contrast between constancy and variability is explained by a somewhat simplified view of the phenomena being compared. The basis of the folklore work is avantext, which generates equal variants, but performs the function of a stable image structure. It should be interpreted quite broadly: as a kind of conditional matrix within which elements vary without changing the cultural meaning. This is why folklore works are recognizable, preserved and recreated in each case. This variation, in turn, expands the set framework, filling the tradition with relevant content, enriching it with new artistic images, etc. A similar situation occurs with the author's works of art, which for a long time included improvisational fragments. It is the execution and perception of a literary text (and not just the fact that it is fixed in a sign system) that turns it into a work itself, with the inevitable variability. Of course, these changes are not as obvious as in the case of folklore works, but they do not exclude them. Thus, any work of art does not act as a constant system, but as a phenomenon that is quite mobile in the dynamics of cultural activity. In addition, it should be remembered that a work of art is always the result of a specific activity for the production of artifacts. In this case, any created artifact acts as a work of art or, more generally, a work of culture. Therefore, the creation of an artifact in the sphere of folklore culture is the same artistic production as creativity in the sphere of author's musical culture, literature, painting, etc. The use of the term “folklore work” is not only quite justified, but also corresponds to the essential structural, functional and semantic characteristics of this phenomenon.

ЖІНОЧІ ОБРАЗИ У ТВОРЧІЙ СПАДЩИНІ МИКОЛИ ПИМОНЕНКА

Ukrainian realistic painting became a symbol for the embodiment of the features of the traditional culture of the second half of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century. Mykola Pymonenko was one of the most striking painters among the outstanding artists who in their work turned to the development of themes and motifs from the everyday life of the peasantry. He skillfully depicted the color of the Ukrainian village, transferring the features of the profane and sacred times into traditional culture. His creative activity was closely connected with observation, and therefore the works demonstrate a high level of accuracy and reliability in the reproduced elements of material and spiritual culture. One of the important aspects that can be studied from Mykola Pymonenko’s paintings is the image of a woman in traditional culture. Pymonenko paid a lot of attention to depicting the feminine experience within the established system of social life in the Ukrainian village. Various age categories of women with different social status in individual contexts are presented among his creative works. The high level of the artist’s skill and his commitment to the standards of realistic painting allow us to compare the female images embodied in art with the realities of that time, showing, in parallel, a visual picture of a woman’s life in traditional society. Pymonenko reveals such aspects as family and relative ties, socialization, work, holidays and others, actually covering all components of human life. At the same time, detailing the elements of material culture allows to supplement the received information and form a clearer picture of a woman in traditional Ukrainian culture. Mykola Pymonenko managed to form a stable image of a woman in his work, at the same time, preserving its variability and demonstrating the uniqueness of each of them. Taking into account the fact that in traditional culture women often played a passive role, had to obey the patriarchal attitudes of the society of that time, Pymonenko in his works focuses mainly on female images, trying to reveal them as multifaceted and extraordinary.

Infrared and Visible Image Fusion Based on Adversarial Feature Extraction and Stable Image Reconstruction

Due to the discrepancy between training and test data, autoencoder-based image fusion methods trained by natural images easily lose vital information of infrared and visible images. Generative adversarial network (GAN) based methods usually conduct their adversarial learning in image domain, which are difficult to optimize and ultimately affect the image fusion performance. To address these problems, this paper proposes an autoencoder-based network, Extraction-and-Reconstruction Network (ERNet), to fuse infrared and visible images. To weaken the discrepancy problem, ERNet&#x2019;s encoder is trained using infrared and visible images. To stably train the encoder, we conduct adversarial learning in the feature domain of infrared and visible images, which makes the well-trained encoder could efficiently extract vital features from them. ERNet&#x2019;s decoder is trained using natural images with a supervised mode, which could reconstruct the final fused image from the vital features extracted by the encoder. The encoder and decoder are alternately trained to further weaken the discrepancy problem. The experimental results show that ERNet can effectively extract vital features of infrared and visible images and obtain higher quality fused images. Our fusion results can be found at https://github.com/suweijian1996/ERNet.

Ценностные векторы отечественной словесности: Нижегородский текст русской литературы

The article analyzes the current trends in the field of “supertext” studies, summarizes the reflection on the “Nizhny Novgorod text of Russian literature,” as well as border chronotopes, carried out in the period from 2007 to the present. Authors of the article indicate the main directions of research, such as the identification and description of the sacred toposes of the Nizhny Novgorod land, the comprehension of the value vectors of Russian literature, which were configured in a number of stable images: the images of the city of Kitezh, the Volga, the Diveevsky and Sarov sacred toposes, the image of Seraphim of Sarov. The review article presents the representative characteristics of the national-regional component. Theese features establish the relationship of creativity with the cultural and historical geospace, which appears as the spiritual homeland of the writer (protopop Avvakum, M. Gorky, E. Chirikov, etc.). An important component of literary discourse is the national image-character, which retains positively marked, sometimes ideal features (from the life of Alexander Nevsky to the heroes of E. Dolmatovsky’s “Sormovskaya Lyric”). The article outlines prospects for further research.

МЕТАФОРЫ ВОЙНЫ В ПЕСЕННОМ ИСТОРИЧЕСКОМ ФОЛЬКЛОРЕ ДОНСКИХ КАЗАКОВ

The article deals with the images of the war – one of the key concepts of the Don Cossacks’ world picture – in the historical song folklore. Military themes permeate most of the Cossacks historical songs. Along with the direct depiction of military actions and related phenomena and concepts, the songs contain allegorical, metaphorical descriptions of war – stable images associated with armed clashes. The author’s attention is focused on the last, as they show the deep interconnections of war with other basic concepts of the Cossack, and Russian in general, worldview. The representations of war, reflected in the songs, are closely related to the understanding of life and death, one’s own and others’ and the main occupations of the Cossacks. War is described allegorically through images of natural disasters, social relations, and labor activities, and appears as a phenomenon beyond human control, characterized as an alien, otherworldly space, and thereby partially intersects with the people’s understanding of death. Many of the described metaphors (army – cloud; battle – harvest, feast; enemies – guests) were characteristic of all-Russian folk art from the earliest period, which shows the continuity of the Cossack folklore tradition with the Russian one

ОБНАРУЖЕНИЕ И КАРТИРОВАНИЕ НЕФТЯНЫХ СЛИКОВ В МОРЕ КОМБИНАЦИЕЙ РАЗЛИЧНЫХ ИСТОЧНИКОВ ДАННЫХ ДИСТАНЦИОННОГО ЗОНДИРОВАНИЯ ЗЕМЛИ

Earth remote sensing methods, used to detect and map oil spills, are considered. The research is aimed at solving problems in the field of aerospace monitoring of oil development sites and oil spills. The object of the research is images or a sequence of images of the natural environment. The subject of the research is presented by mathematical modeling and software for image processing and analysis, recognition and classification of images, to assess the environmental condition of offshore oilfields. The aim of the research is to detect oil pollution in the shelf area by means of semi-automated image analysis using super-accurate neural network algorithms (ResNetIO) with long- and short-term memory (LSTM) when processing materials from several information sources, which require spatial matching between the images. To recognize objects on the ground, visual data have been analyzed based on the formation of stable features using deep neural networks. Multidimensional heterogeneous (multiple images) remote sensing data has been proposed as the basis. The research tasks, which help to realize the aim are: to form a set of image sets, containing scenes in a changing environment (weather conditions, illumination, seasonality, viewing angle); to use own base, allowing to allocate stable image features; to develop methods and algorithms for processing and analysis of images for formation of stable features forming scenes from neural networks; to conduct computer experiments for comparative analysis and evaluation results of classification and categorization with the use of neural networks. For this purpose the author has made automatic registration of geometrical deformations (displacement, rotation, scale change), using bilinear interpolation and testing for possible variation of statistical model inside the inhomogeneous sliding window based on the semi-automatic approach for the shelf area of the Oil Rocks (Caspian Sea). Standard single-layer 2D LSTM networks [18] are used to solve the texture segmentation problem by classifying texture perpixels. The network accurately estimates texture regions and automatically adapts the different scale, orientation and shape of texture regions in the image. A simple way of using LSTM networks for texture segmentation is shown, and the efficiency (accuracy) is compared, using research-based measures of classification quality using a new similarity measure based on a statistical model (three versions of the nearest-neighbor rule and the maximum likelihood method) [6]. The results of the studies have generally confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed model. The second front of the research (object recognition analysis) has shown that context information must be taken into account when applying object recognition systems. It has become possible to find evidence that the natural formation of clusters indicates that contexts emerged, which appeared to be fundamental to performance results. However, it is important to emphasize that these experiments are empirical in nature and are conducted on a particular image base that is well known in the academic scientific community

Из неопубликованного сатирического наследия Михаила Хонинова

Introduction. The family archive of the Kalmyk writer Mikhail V. Khoninov (1919–1981) contains unpublished works of various genres, both in the original and in translations. The latter comprise his satirical heritage represented by fables, feuilletons, apologues, couplets, quatrains, etc. Goals. The article introduces into scientific circulation Russian translations of some unpublished satirical poems and a feuilleton of the poet which for various reasons were never included in the author’s lifetime books, nor printed in magazine and newspaper versions. Materials and methods. The study explores the satirist’s fables and one feuilleton created in the 1970s and translated into Russian for a book in the Crocodile Library series. The historical literary, comparative, and descriptive methods made it possible to identify genre features, poetics of texts, and a tradition of laughter culture. Results. The analysis of the texts defines their satirical orientation characteristic of one part of the writer’s artistic heritage, variability of plots and motifs, stable images, allegorism, and connection with contemporaneity. Conclusions. Russian translations of the fables (‘Oh, Sanzhi ...’, ‘The Skillful Thief’, ‘Literary Horse Thief’, ‘Coryphaeus’, ‘Editing’) and one feuilleton (‘The Fraudsters’) by A. Vnukov, L. Shereshevsky, A. Nikolaev, M. Semenov, and A. Krongauz demonstrate a variety of themes and characters addressed by the poet. The to be introduced unpublished fables and one feuilleton by M. Khoninov shall be instrumental in supplementing book editions, reconstructing a creative history of the poet’s works and translation practices of ethnic poetry.

Gradual Restraint Habituation for Awake Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Combined With a Sparse Imaging Paradigm Reduces Motion Artifacts and Stress Levels in Rodents.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging, as a non-invasive technique, offers unique opportunities to assess brain function and connectivity under a broad range of applications, ranging from passive sensory stimulation to high-level cognitive abilities, in awake animals. This approach is confounded, however, by the fact that physical restraint and loud unpredictable acoustic noise must inevitably accompany fMRI recordings. These factors induce marked stress in rodents, and stress-related elevations of corticosterone levels are known to alter information processing and cognition in the rodent. Here, we propose a habituation strategy that spans specific stages of adaptation to restraint, MRI noise, and confinement stress in awake rats and circumvents the need for surgical head restraint. This habituation protocol results in stress levels during awake fMRI that do not differ from pre-handling levels and enables stable image acquisition with very low motion artifacts. For this, rats were gradually trained over a period of three weeks and eighteen training sessions. Stress levels were assessed by analysis of fecal corticosterone metabolite levels and breathing rates. We observed significant drops in stress levels to below pre-handling levels at the end of the habituation procedure. During fMRI in awake rats, after the conclusion of habituation and using a non-invasive head-fixation device, breathing was stable and head motion artifacts were minimal. A task-based fMRI experiment, using acoustic stimulation, conducted 2 days after the end of habituation, resulted in precise whole brain mapping of BOLD signals in the brain, with clear delineation of the expected auditory-related structures. The active discrimination by the animals of the acoustic stimuli from the backdrop of scanner noise was corroborated by significant increases in BOLD signals in the thalamus and reticular formation. Taken together, these data show that effective habituation to awake fMRI can be achieved by gradual and incremental acclimatization to the experimental conditions. Subsequent BOLD recordings, even during superimposed acoustic stimulation, reflect low stress-levels, low motion and a corresponding high-quality image acquisition. Furthermore, BOLD signals obtained during fMRI indicate that effective habituation facilitates selective attention to sensory stimuli that can in turn support the discrimination of cognitive processes in the absence of stress confounds.