The strength of visual backward masking depends on the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between target and mask. Recently, it was shown that the conjoint spatial layout of target and mask is as crucial as SOA. Particularly, masking strength depends on whether target and mask group with each other. The same is true in crowding where the global spatial layout of the flankers and target-flanker gro...

Vernier templating exploits a mismatch between the number of binding sites in a template and a reactant to direct the formation of a product that is large enough to bind several template units. Here, we present a detailed study of the Vernier-templated synthesis of a 12-porphyrin nanoring. NMR and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analyses show that Vernier complexes are formed as intermediat...

In visual crowding, target discrimination strongly deteriorates when flanking elements are added. We have recently shown that crowding cannot be explained by simple low-level interactions and that grouping is a key component instead. We presented a vernier flanked by arrays of vertical lines. When the flankers had the same lengths as the vernier, offset discrimination was strongly impaired. Whe...

Six visual functions, once developed to adult levels of performance, have been noted to exhibit little or no alteration with aging (also see Appendix, Note 1). Those selected for more substantial discussions in this article are: (a) the Stiles-Crawford effect of the first kind (SCE-I), also known as the "directional sensitivity of the retina"; (b) specific vernier acuity paradigms (including al...

Traditional visual acuity is based on resolution of stimulus features, whereas hyperacuity (ie, vernier acuity) is based on relative localization of stimulus features. Since resolution acuity is influenced severely by optical degradation, it is often not a suitable measure of the status of the retinal/neural visual system in conditions of optical degradation. In the present study, the authors i...

Vernier acuity is a form of hyperacuity in which the threshold offset between a test object and a reference object is smaller than the size of a foveal cone. Because the test and the reference objects usually have regular shapes (e.g. rectangular, triangular or circular), relatively few studies have addressed the role of shape information in determining hyperacuity thresholds. In this study, we...

Vernier acuity for opposite-contrast polarity stimuli clearly poses problems for local contrast models of relative position processing. In Expt 1 we show that vernier thresholds for abutting, or closely separated features of opposite-contrast polarity, are degraded across a wide range of stimulus strengths and configurations; but for widely separated stimuli they are more or less independent of...

Abstract The Vernier effect and harmonic have attracted ever-increasing interest due to their freely tailored spectrum envelope in tunable laser, modulator, precision sensing. Most explorations mainly focused on configuring two isolated optical resonators, namely the reference resonator. However, this configuration requires a stable resonator guarantee robust readout, posing significant challen...

Experiments are described in which vernier acuity performance is measured for two subjects using target lines in which the line width, overall contrast and edge-gradient are varied . The results show an optimum line width of about 15 min arc for achieving a best performance . Contrast is shown to be a significant factor in vernier acuity in agreement with other acuity measures . The results als...

This paper presents the influences of winding magneto-motive force (MMF) harmonics on the torque characteristics in surface-mounted permanent magnet vernier (SPMV) machines. Based on the magnetic gearing effects, the armature magnetic field of the SPMV machines is modulated by flux modulation poles (FMPs). In the modulated magnetic field, a working harmonic which corresponds to the number of th...