Learning Spatial Localization: From Rat Studies to Computational Models of the Hippocampus

In his landmark article, Richard Morris (1981) introduced a set of rat experiments intended “to demonstrate that rats can rapidly learn to locate an object that they can never see, hear, or smell provided it remains in a fixed spatial location relative to distal room cues” (p. 239). These experimental studies have greatly impacted our understanding of rat spatial cognition. In this article, we address a spatial cognition model primarily based on hippocampus place cell computation where we extend the prior Barrera–Weitzenfeld model (2008) intended to allow navigation in mazes containing corridors. The current work extends beyond the limitations of corridors to enable navigation in open arenas where a rat may move in any direction at any time. The extended work reproduces Morris's rat experiments through virtual rats that search for a hidden platform using visual cues in a circular open maze analogous to the Morris water maze experiments. We show results with virtual rats comparing them to Morris's original studies with rats.     

Seeing the Forest or the Trees? Shifting Categorical Effects in Map Memory

People use spatial and nonspatial information to structure memory for an environment. Two experiments explored interactions between spatial and social categories on map memory when mediated by retrieval (Experiment 1) and encoding (Experiment 2) demands. Participants studied a map depicting business locations (including proprietors' race). In Experiment 1, participants completed two memory tasks, one globally focused and the other locally focused. The global task compressed, while the local task expanded, within-category similarity. Furthermore, processing styles carried over to the subsequent task. Experiment 2 emphasized either the spatial or social category during encoding, which increased that category's weighting in memory. These results extend the work of Maddox, Rapp, Brion, and Taylor, suggesting that retrieval and encoding demands can shift how these categories affect spatial memory.     

Interactivity in map learning: The effect of cognitive load

The hypothesis that active learning is beneficial relative to passive observation was assessed in the context of spatial knowledge derived from maps. Active and passive participants studied a map either while performing a simultaneous spatial tapping task (high cognitive load) or in the absence of this task (low cognitive load). Active participants controlled how the map was learned, with passive participants observing map learning without exercising control. Spatial recall was assessed in two tests, directional judgements and map drawing. Map drawing and directional judgments showed a similar pattern of results, with performance detrimentally affected by a high load for active participants, but not for passive participants. The results indicate that activity and cognitive load interact, suggesting that active learning can be detrimental to spatial learning in cognitively demanding tasks.     

Implicit spatial reference systems using proximity and aligment knowledge

In this paper, we explore the situation where no cardinal directions or globally available orientations are available and no metric estimates are given. This corresponds to the way many people perceive their environment and carry out spatial reasoning tasks. We consider three kinds of locally available information – proximity (nearest neighbor), relevance (different sets of neighbors) and distribution (alignments) – and we limit our interest to a universe of point objects. We show how the theory of manifolds and sheaves can be applied to the problem of combining locally available information of a qualitative nature into a global model of an environmental space. We then explore the limitations of the resulting global model if information capture is incomplete or uncertain. Finally, we note that some indeterminacy in the global model does not entail difficulties for a user, provided the reasoning task is appropriately constrained or appropriate additional information is used, such as an external reference.     

Spaceflight and clinorotation cause cytoskeleton and mitochondria changes and increases in apoptosis in cultured cells.

The cytoskeleton is a complex network of fibers that is sensitive to environmental factors including microgravity and altered gravitational forces. Cellular functions such as transport of cell organelles depend on cytoskeletal integrity; regulation of cytoskeletal activity plays a role in cell maintenance, cell division, and apoptosis. Here we report cytoskeletal and mitochondria alterations in cultured human lymphocyte (Jurkat) cells after exposure to spaceflight and in insect cells of Drosophila melanogaster (Schneider S-1) after exposure to conditions created by clinostat rotation. Jurkat cells were flown on the space shuttle in Biorack cassettes while Schneider S-1 cells were exposed to altered gravity forces as produced by clinostat rotation. The effects of both treatments were similar in the different cell types. Fifty percent of cells displayed effects on the microtubule network in both cell lines. Under these experimental conditions mitochondria clustering and morphological alterations of mitochondrial cristae was observed to various degrees after 4 and 48 hours of culture. Jurkat cells underwent cell divisions during exposure to spaceflight but a large number of apoptotic cells was also observed. Similar results were obtained in Schneider S-1 cells cultured under clinostat rotation. Both cell lines displayed mitochondria abnormalities and mitochondria clustering toward one side of the cells which is interpreted to be the result of microtubule disruption and failure of mitochondria transport along microtubules. The number of mitochondria was increased in cells exposed to altered gravity while cristae morphology was severely affected indicating altered mitochondria function. These results show that spaceflight as well as altered gravity produced by clinostat rotation affects microtubule and mitochondria organization and results in increases in apoptosis. Grant numbers: NAG 10-0224, NAG2-985.     

复合材料带缠绕成型过程建模及工艺参数优化

复合材料带缠绕成型过程中,成型工艺参数的选取决定了缠绕制品的性能。采用正交实验法研究各工艺参数对缠绕制品层间剪切强度的影响规律和敏感度,并将正交试验数据与神经网络理论相结合,对带缠绕成型过程进行建模,得到缠绕成型工艺参数与层间剪切强度之间的非线性映射关系,并通过实验验证了模型的可靠性。在此基础上,利用粒子群优化方法在可行工艺参数域内对缠绕成型工艺参数进行优化。仿真与实验结果表明,基于神经网络模型的工艺参数粒子群优化算法能够快速、准确的得到带缠绕成型的全局最优工艺参数组合。使得缠绕制品层间剪切强度达到最优的工艺参数组合为:加热温度115℃,缠绕张力357 N,压辊压力1006 N和缠绕速度0.28 m/s,在最优工艺参数作用下,缠绕制品的层间剪切强度达到102.2 MPa。     

On early cognitive mapping

In this paper we examine the nature of theearly cognitive map – the beginnings of acognitive map formed from one's earlyimpressions of the environment one is in. Twodistinct paradigms have emerged from ourstudies of what information is initially identified in a cognitive map. The first, which weterm a space-based approach, emphasises makingexplicit the spatial extent of the currentlocal environment. The second emphasises makingexplicit the relationships between objects inthe local environment and we call this anobject-based approach. For both paradigms weexamine the psychological literature to findsupport for the approach and the roboticists'attempts at implementing the idea. We arguethat a space-based approach is the moreappropriate way to compute an early cognitivemap. In particular, we find that Siegel andWhite's (1975) object-based hypothesis, whichstates that the developmental progression of acognitive map is from landmark to route tosurvey map, is not supported. The space-basedparadigm underpins our own work in this areaand we outline our own space-based theory forcomputing an early cognitive map.     

重复热处理工艺对30CrMnSiA钢疲劳性能的影响

本文介绍了30CrMnSiA钢的九种不同的重复热处理工艺，结果显示B种热处理工艺能使30CrMnsiA钢具有最佳的抗疲劳性能并证明不同的重复热处理状态对钢的疲劳性能有影响。     

天宫一号目标飞行器氢镍蓄电池内部温度场仿真分析与验证

建立了氢镍蓄电池温度场热仿真模型,模拟氢镍蓄电池放电过程的温度。实测结果表明仿真计算值与实测结果一致性较佳,两者温差最大仅0．7℃,验证了热仿真模型的有效性。用该仿真模型对天宫一号（TG-1）目标飞行器40A·h氢镍蓄电池进行了热设计优化,根据优化结果研制了相应的电池。对电池内部温度的测试结果表明其内部最大温差约5℃,...     

Route generation and description using the notions of object's influence area and spatial conceptual map

In the GRAAD Project we aimed at creatinga system which could generate route directions thatare comparable to route directions created by humanparticipants. With this goal in mind, we started froma linguistic and cognitive study of route directionsproduced by people and the study of cognitive modelsof mental maps. We proposed a new qualitative spatialmodel that can support the spatial properties of humanroute directions. This model is based on the notion ofobject's influence area which is used to modelneighborhood, orientation and distance. The proposedapproach relies on the manipulation of spatialentities in a spatial conceptual map (SCM) which isthe computarized analog of a mental map used bypeople. We developped the GRAAD System, software thatgenerates routes in a SCM and describes them innatural language. Finally, we conducted an experimentin order to compare GRAAD's route directions androutes described by human participants in similarexperimental conditions. GRAAD's output was notdistinguishable from route directions created by humanparticipants. In this paper we present the mainresults obtained during all phases of the GRAADProject.     

SNAP and SPAN: Towards Dynamic Spatial Ontology

This paper presents the results from an experimental framework developed to extract topological and geometrical indicators for geographic concepts. The overall purpose is to demonstrate the usefulness of conceptual cognitive schemas for defining relationships and ontological distinctions between vague geographic concepts. In doing so, the problems in formal specifications arising due to semantic overlaps and ambiguity in geographic concepts, especially ones that have cognitive anchoring, is resolved. The results from the experiment described in this paper have significant implications for the way formal models of place can be developed that encapsulate representational configuration informed by commonsense knowledge.     

Solar and Heliospheric Phenomena in October–November 2003: Causes and Effects

We present new observational data on the phenomena of extremely high activity on the Sun and in the heliosphere that took place in October–November 2003. A large variety of solar and heliospheric parameters give evidence that the interval under consideration is unique over the entire observation time. Based on these data, comparing them with similar situations in the past and using available theoretical concepts, we discuss possible cause-and-effect connections between the processes observed. The paper includes the first results and conclusions derived by the collaboration Solar Extreme Events-2003 organized in Russia for detailed investigations of these events. As a result of our consideration, it is beyond question that the physical causes of solar and heliospheric phenomena in October–November 2003 are not exclusively local and do not belong only to the active regions and solar atmosphere above them. The energy reservoirs and driving forces of these processes have a more global nature. In general, they are hidden from an observer, since ultimately their sources lie in the subphotospheric layers of the Sun, where changes that are fast and difficult to predict can sometimes take place (and indeed they do). Solar flares can serve as sufficiently good tracers of these sudden changes and reconstructions on the Sun, although one can still find other diagnostic indicators among the parameters of magnetic fields, motions of matter, and emission characteristics.     

固体火箭发动机地面性能换算成真空性能研究

根据固体火箭发动机内弹道计算模型，分析了使用大扩张比喷管地面静止试验性能与真空性能之间的联系，建立了由地面性能换算成真空性能的方法，计算出的真空推力、真空比冲等数据与实际相符。     

利用混合模型LSTM-DNN进行全球电离层TEC map的中短期预报

近年来,基于深度学习技术的长短期记忆（long short-term memory, LSTM）网络相关预报算法在空间天气的预测方面得到广泛应用,但存在预测误差随时间堆叠的缺陷,因此只能进行有限的短期预测。为解决这一问题,文章将太阳风参数、太阳黑子数、地磁活动水平指数Ap以及磁暴环电流指数Dst作为预报因子加入模型,建立一个基于LSTM和深度神经网络（deep neural networks, DNN）的混合模型来进行全球电离层TEC map的中短期预报。该模型可以明显减小时间递增对预测误差的影响。测试结果表明,相较于单独的LSTM模型,LSTM-DNN混合模型对24 h电离层预报准确率相近,对48 h电离层预报平均相对精度（RA）由79.30%提升到81.18%,对144 h电离层预报平均相对精度由64.97%提升到77.64%。     

基于动态框搜索的星图中星点获取算法研究

分析星图中星点获取算法的具体流程,针对传统星体目标聚类方法的不足,提出了动态框搜索算法。首先采用固定像素框搜索区域最大灰度值点,然后以该点为中心,结合星图图像中真实星点的分布情况,采用大小可变的像素框进行星体目标聚类,最后采用加权质心法得到星点的中心位置。仿真实验表明,该算法能达到良好的效果。     

Assessment of between-floor structural and topological properties on cognitive map development in multilevel built environments

The present study investigated cognitive map development in multilevel built environments. Three experiments were conducted in complex virtual buildings to examine the effects of five between-floor structural factors that may impede the accuracy of humans’ ability to build multilevel cognitive maps. Results from Experiments 1 and 2 (of three experiments) revealed that difficulties in developing multilevel cognitive maps are not solely caused by the z-axis offset, as is suggested in the literature, but are due to the factorial combination of a between-floor overlap and a z-axis offset. Results from Experiment 2 showed that this process becomes substantially more difficult when the reference directions between different floors have an angular offset from each other. Finally, results from Experiment 3 demonstrated that confusing between-floor heading shifts in aligned buildings did not make it reliably harder to build multilevel cognitive maps. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of theories of mental representations in multilayered three-dimensional spaces, as well as for architectural design.     

月球车全局路径规划中的A＊算法改进

考虑月球车全局路径规划的应用要求,针对传统A＊算法搜索速度慢和返回路径不够优化的缺点,对算法流程进行改进,减少其时间和空间复杂度,提高其搜索速度,并对返回路径进行优化,有效地缩短了路径。对于存在凹形障碍的地图,采用后退一尝试的方法解决规划失败的问题,并在一次搜索的基础上使用二次搜索策略来实现规划路径的优化,使之绕过凹形障碍趋向目标,从而达到输出最短路径的目的。     

固体火箭发动机预固化技术及其应用

依据HTPB复合推进剂界面特性 ,提出改变固化反应温度与时间来调节交联程度 ,使系统的官能团逐步进行化学反应 ,形成化学键和氢键 ,改善了生成物的力学性能。论述了预固化技术和粘接模型。将其应用于固体发动机推进剂 衬层界面粘接、发动机装药成型和推进剂药柱修补技术 ,经地面热试车和飞行考核 ,以及试件的十年储存试验考核 ,性能可靠 ,满足设计要求