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In the article, the theory of intermediality as intermodality, developed by the Scandinavian theorist Lars Ellestrom and based on Charles S. Peirce's understanding of sign, is discussed in the perspective of graphic design. Referring to the intermediality approach, which is seldom applied in Lithuania, and using the analogies of music and typography parameters, the author of the article analyzes the musical scores by modern composers of un-traditional expression, radical rule-defying typography, and her own work. The works of the founders of typographic musical scores, modernist composers John Cage, Sylvano Bussotti, Cornelius Cardew, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, acoustic typographers Filipp Tommaso Marinetti and Guillaume Apollinaire, rebellious designers Wolfgang Weingart and his students Dan Friedman, David Carson, as well as the author of the article are discussed. Applying the intermedial model for the analysis of musical scores and works of graphic designers reveals close links between sound and image both in creative practice and the perception of works. The author of the article is looking for answers how sound or music is actualized in the visual art field, how the visual and acoustic perception interact, and what conditions are necessary to make this interaction happen. In the conclusions, the importance of "actualization" of a work through a technical medium and further development of this intermedial relation in the fields of musical scores, typography and visual communication is formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with a wide spectrum of non-motor symptoms, including visual hallucinations. Disturbances of visual perception are usually considered to be a complication of PD progression predicting a probability of psychosis or coexisting dementia. Visual hallucinations have multifactorial etiology and are associ- atcd with lower visual acuity, long duration of the disease, cognitive disturbances, impaired contrast sensitivity, colour discrimination, and dopaminergic medications. There is limited data on hallucinations in PD without dementia, considering them mostly iatrogenic.Materials and methods. The permission to perform the study was received at Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos (VUHSK). 30 self-contained patients of VUHSK with PD without dementia staged 1.0-3.0 according to Hochn and Yahr scale (19 males and 11 females) were interviewed. The control group consisted of 30 subjects (15 males and 15 females) without neurodegenerative diseases and dementia. All participants were evaluated by means of a specially designed questionnaire on disturbances of visual perception, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD). Clinical data included the burden of PD according to Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), the duration of PD, and currently used medications. The dose of dopaminergic medications was converted to Levodopa Equivalent Dose (LED). Patients underwent ophthalmological examination which provided data on colour discrimination, contrast sensitivity, eye pressure, and retinal ganglion cell layer thickness (RGCL). The relations between minor hallucinations and clinical factors were investigated by comparison of PD and control groups, and PD group was divided into subgroups based on the occurrence of hallucinations. Results. 30% of PD patients and 10% of control subjects ex-xirienced disturbances of visual perception (p=0.05). The most x>mmon visual hallucinations among non-demented patients vitli PD were kinctopsia and passage hallucinations, more rare -nisidcntification of objects and macropsia; controls named only )assagc hallucinations. 6.6% of PD patients named more than )ne type of minor hallucinations. Hallucinations occurred in 10% of PD patients with unilateral motor symptoms, 20% of pa-ients with bilateral motor disease without postural instability, ind 50% of subjects with postural instability caased by progres- sion of PD. The difference of MoCA total score (p=0.006), language (p=0.0026) and executive function (p=0.0004) scores between the groups was statistically significant. 40% of PD patients and 10% of controls were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (p=0.015). 30% of PD patients and 10% of control subjects scored 7 points or above in HAD anxiety subscalc (p=0.021). The possible link between disturbances of visual perception and UPDRS Mentation, Behavior and Mood subscore (p=0.05), Activities of Daily Living subscore (p=0.064), and RGCL thickness of the left eye (p=0.056) was determined. ROC analysis revealed the highest sensitivity and specificity in visual hallucinations of MoCA score (AUC=0.694; p=0.005), HAD anxiety suhscore (AUC=0.697; p=0.013), and UPDRS Activities of Daily Living (ADL) subscore (AUC=0.704; p=0.030). The logistic regression did not reveal significant relations between disturbances of visual perception and age, PD duration and stage, HAD depression subscore, LED, UPDRS total, motor and complications scores, motor lateralisaton, impaired colour discrimination, contrast sensitivity, eye pressure, and visual acuity. Conclusions. Non-dementcd PD patients experienced disturbances of visual perception probably more frequently than control subjects. These disturbances developed more frequently in case of postural instability. Mild cognitive impairment, disorders of language and executive function were diagnosed more frequently in PD group. Minor hallucinatory phenomena were probably related to thinner RGCL of the left eye and worse UPDRS scores in parts Mentation, Behavior and Mood, and ADL. We recommend that examination of PD patients for disturbances of visual perception include MoCA, HAD anxiety, and UPDRS ADL subscales. A laiger sample study Is required to obtain results of higher significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Nevertheless, diagnosis is usually delayed. In recent studies attention is drawn to the impairment of visual perception, which could be useful in early diagnosis of the disease. There are known various visual disorders related to AD. However, colour perception of patients with AD is not clearly understood. There are some studies with minor extent and the results remain controversary. Purpose of the study. To evaluate colour naming, colour memory and colour-emotion associations in patients with AD. Materials and methods. The study was conducted in the department of Neurology at Vilnius University Hospital Santariškių Klinikos. We enrolled 19 patiens with mild and moderate AD and 20 cognitively normal control subjects, matched for age, sex and level of education. Cognitive functions were assessed using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results. Patients with AD named significantly less colours than control group (p=0.009). There were significantly more mistakes in colour naming among subjects of AD group (p=0.01). AD patients made significantly more mistakes naming longer wavelength colours (p=0.002), but there were no significant diference naming colours of shorter wavelength (p=0.4). Remembering the sequence of three colours patients with AD made significantly more mistakes than control group (p=0.02). Significant differences in remembering two colours combination were found in one of two tasks (p=0.09 ir p=0.04), in one of two four colour binding tasks (p=0.51 and p=0.02) and in both tasks of three colour combination (p=0.001 ir p=0.03). The most favourite colours in AD group were green, blue and yellow, while control group preferred green, blue and pink. The least favourite colour were grey in AD and yellow in control group. The evaluation of grey colour differed significantly between groups (p=0.009). There was reliable negative connection of middle strenght between MMSE and grey colour preference. No difference was recorded in the frequence of picked positive and negative emotional descriptors between AD and control subjects (p=0.82). Patients with AD were susceptible to choose few controversial descriptors to one colour (p<0.001). Conclusions. Patiens with AD have selective deficit in naming colours of longer wavelenght. Colour memory is also impaired (it is observed in remembering colour sequence and simultaneous colour combinations). Three colour binding task is the most specific to distinguish AD and control subjects. Colour preferences also vary between groups. The most significant differences are in grey colour evaluation. It is the least favourable colour for patient with AD and the correlation between grey colour evaluation and cognitive performance is observed. There are also differences in colour-emotion associations for patients with AD. They frequently associate colour with several contradictory emotional descriptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of work is to check functionality of the methodology of the visual landscape assessment. To achieve this objective the following tasks were set up: to present an overview of the research of the visual landscape structure, to ground theoretically the importance of the methodology of the visual perception of landscape, to identify the fragments of the visual landscape assessment, to assign parameters to the fragments of the landscape assessment and create the evaluation system based on the parameters. Moreover, this work introduces two studies of the visual landscape structure on which the methodology has been developed. Each study was analyzed separately. The results took their place in the evaluation system. This work revealed the main factors, which are influencing the perception of the landscape. It is evident that the subject of the appraisal is extremely complicated. Practice of landscape planning is commonly confined to general physical or visible characteristics and description of the landscape. Theory and practice of territory planning actually need a method of landscape assessment based on physical, visible and mainly individually perceived features of visual landscape structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasing due to the aging of the population. As a result the economic burden of AD is increasing as well. Early diagnosis and timely interventions are needed in order to reduce the cost of care for patients with AD. Visuospatial perception has recently drawn attention as one of the earliest symptoms of AD that could be useful in early diagnosis of the disease. There are some aspects of visual cognition that have not been studied extensively in patients with AD. There are still some uncertainties regarding impairment in visuospatial functions in AD such as the exact nature of these symptoms and the time of on set in the course of the disease. Purpose of the study. To evaluate visual perception and susceptibility to optical illusions in patients with mild and moderate AD. Materials and methods. The study was conducted in the department of Neurology at Vilnius University Hospital Santariškių Klinikos. We en rolled 23 patients with mild to moderate AD and 25 cognitively normal control subjects, matched for age, sex, level of education and type of occupation. Visual perception and susceptibility to optical illusions were assessed using a set of 32 pictures that were divided into six groups according to mechanisms of perception. Cognitive functions were assessed using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results. Patients with AD were significantly less susceptible than control subjects to 2 out of 4 geometrical illusions (p<0.001). They were also less susceptible to 1 out of 3 colour illusions (p=0.046). De creased susceptibility to optical illusions was present in the stage of mild dementia (MMSE>20 pts.). Performance in embedded images tasks was significantly (p<0.05) worse in AD patients in 7 out of 8 cases. Patients with mild dementia were significantly worse than control subjects in evaluating 3 of these pictures. Patients with AD identified both possible meanings less frequently than control subjects in 1 out of 3 pictures of ambiguous figures (p=0.001). AD patients made significantly more mistakes than control subjects in 4 out of 8 optical paradoxes tasks (p 0.02 -- <0.001). Mild dementia patients' performance was significantly different from control group in 2 of these tasks. There were no significant differencies between patients with AD and control subjects in perception of motion illusions. Conclusions. Visual perception is impaired in AD. Deficits in visual perception occur early in the course of the disease. They are present in patients with mild dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that objects located in the centre of the visual field are perceived as larger than the objects located in the periphery (Due to image rights restrictions, multiple line equation(s) cannot be graphically displayed, 1978). The image of an object differs from its perception object. The perceived size of an object depends on the size of its image in the visual cortex. This stems from the so-called cortical magnification factor. It is assumed that the same quantity of receptors sends information to the same area of the cortex. But photoreceptors are different - rods and the cones. It is not clear whether the different type of receptors make a different influence on the above-mentioned distortion of mapping. Also, the image of the object on the retina is perceived differently, depending on its location on the retina. Our goal was to explore how this subjective expansion changes while moving away from the centre of the retina, because there are no data on this, phenomenon. Method. thirty normal or corrected to normal vision adults participated in the study. Five different length lines (5, 7, 10, 13, 15 degrees) were represented on the computer's monitor one line at a time. Participants had monoculary bisected lines into two subjectively equal parts fixating sight on a cross located at the given end of the line. Results. The ratio ρ (length of the line near the cross / length of the other part) was calculated. This ratio as a function of the length of the whole line was not monotonic: when the line was short, ρ decreased, but then it began to increase. Three groups of results were formed considering the ratio of the line length (where the function had the extremum point). The largest group (66.67%) had the extremum point when the line length was 7 deg. The second group (23.33%) had the extremum point when the line length was 13 deg. The last group (10%) had not clear extremum point and was excluded from the calculation. Changes of the ρvalue cannot be explained by the perceptual instability of the length of the line (Brown, 1953). There could be a correlation between the value of ρ and the density of all receptors in the retina where the line was projected. Conclusions. Humans make a bias while monocular by bisecting a line: the part near the point of fixation is perceived as bigger than the other part. The function of the line size ratio changes not monotonically - it has an extremum point. Most often, the extremum point is observed when the line size is 7 deg. This point is near the point where the density of rods exceeds that of cones. Other subjects show the extremum point when line size is 13 deg., but the reasons for such a point shift remain unclear. Some subjects have no extremum point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binocular rivalry is a phenomenon of visual perception in which perception alternates between two different images, presented to each eye's resopective sites. Binocular rivalry has been investigated for decades, yet its nature has not been understood well. Most investigators agree now that rivalry is not a simple process but is based on complex interaction of hierarchical processes of visual system. Theoretical models are being created to describe binocular rivalry. One of the key things which the models have to explain is the temporal features of binocular rivalry: its dominant time distribution, the influence of the strength of the stimulus upon that etc. There is no agreement whether subtle temporal changes in presentation of stimuli are crucial for rivalry processes. The aim of the study was to investigate whether rivalry dominant time is influenced by flickering rate of stimuli presented to both eyes. 4 male subjects (mean age 31.8 y. with normal or corrected to normal vision) took part in the study. The stimuli were white round circles with a 45° slanting black line crossing it. The lines shown to different eyes were orthogonal to each other. Each line was subtended by 1.7 degrees. A special tachistoscope was constructed for presenting of the stimuli. In experiment 1 the stimuli were flickering in counter phase. The duration of the stimulus presentation was 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 25, 30 ms. Moreover we also investigated dominant time under continuous stimuli presentation (constant view). In the second experiment the stimulus displayed to the right eye was flickering and the left one was kept steady. The subject had to press the corresponding key when he perceived the line displayed to the left eye. Dominant time was the time during which the corresponding key was pressed by the subject. Each subject took part in some 3 to 28 experiments. The results show that the flickering rate of the stimuli influences the dominant time. The function of mean dominant time versus the rate of the flickering is not a monotonic function - it has extremums with distance between two closest maximum or minimum being equal to about 5-12 ms. But the location of the extremums on the frequencies scale is not stable. We discuss a possible relation of the obtained results with the known neurophysiologic data and the theories of discrete perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to effectively integrate decision-making tasks (such as interactive access to data and support for numerical and quantitative modelling techniques) together with the knowledge representation and visualisation tasks and inference procedures that model an expert's thought process has provoked research efforts to integrate decision support systems (DSS) with knowledge and expert systems (ES), neural networks and multimedia towards the formulation of intelligent DSS. We can analyse the intelligent DSS as a network of distributed systems (DSS, ES, neural networks, etc.) each of them facing and solving a specific problem. Under this point of view different systems can be integrated in the integrated system. Knowledge based decision support system for building refurbishment developed in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University is described in the paper in order to describe the above systems integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]