Creativity as a Mental State: An EEG Study of Musical Improvisation

Researchers in cognitive neuroscience have used brain-imaging methods (e.g., EEG, fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of creative cognition and have found increased activity in the alpha frequency band (Fink et al., 2009a, 2009b; Martindale, 1975), however few studies have used neuroscientific measures to investigate artistic creativity. Such studies are valuable because they share a characteristic of ecological validity. In this study I used EEG, the Alternate Uses Test (Guilford, 1967), and the Consensual Assessment Technique (Amabile, 1982) to substantiate a conceptualization of creativity as a mental state characterized by a distinct pattern of neural activity. The participants were musicians with and without previous formal institutional training in improvisation. Amongst those with previous training, frontal upper alpha synchronization in the right hemisphere was greater when musicians improvised than when they played back and listened to melodies. Originality scores correlated with frontal upper alpha synchronization in the right hemisphere during improvisation, and frontal upper alpha synchronization in the right hemisphere correlated with expert ratings of created products. The relationship of frontal upper alpha synchronization in the right hemisphere during improvisation and the quality of created products was mediated by aptitude for originality. This suggests that training acts as a pathway for the development of creative gifts into creative talents observable in the quality of created products

Pre-service Teacher Beliefs on the Antecedents to Bullying: A Concept Mapping Study

In this study, researchers gathered Canadian pre-service teachers’ beliefs on the antecedents to bullying. Concept mapping (Kane & Trochim, 2007) was used to analyze the data. This study’s findings identified pre-service teachers to have accurate beliefs, inaccurate beliefs, and a lack of knowledge about the antecedents to bullying. Concept maps and accompanying factor-rating tables indicate that participants believe antecedents to bullying include family factors, abuse, instability and socio-economic factors, school and academic factors, interpersonal factors, and personal factors. Results may inform pre-service teachers’ knowledge, and indicate what information pre-service teachers need to be taught

The effectiveness of quantum operations for eavesdropping on sealed messages

A quantum protocol is described which enables a user to send sealed messages and that allows for the detection of active eavesdroppers. We examine a class of eavesdropping strategies, those that make use of quantum operations, and we determine the information gain versus disturbance caused by these strategies. We demonstrate this tradeoff with an example and we compare this protocol to quantum key distribution, quantum direct communication, and quantum seal protocols.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Third Feynman Festival, 25 -- 29 August 2006, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, U.S.

Of combined electric arc coatings

The paper considers possibilities to increase the wear resistance for parts machines and mechanisms using combined electric arc coatings thanks to nitriding the coatings deposited. The possibility of controlling the properties of surfaces owing to choice with required characteristics electric arc coatings is shown. The influence of spray factors such as the flow rate and pressure of working gases, composition of combustion mixture, spraying distance, dispersion of the spray, properties of wire material, etc. on the properties of the coatings obtained has been investigated. The paper considers the use of pulse ion nitriding of arc-spray EAS (eelectric arc spraying) coatings from wire materials as one of the efficient ways to increase their performance characteristics.=В работе предложено повышать износостойкость деталей машин и механизмоа комбинированными ЭДН-покрытиями за счет азотирования напыленных покрытий. В работе исследование влияния факторов процесса элпектродугового напыления: расхода и давления рабочих газов, состава горючей смеси, дистанции напыления, дисперсности распыления, свойств материала проволоки и др. на свойства ЭДН-покрытий. В работе рассмотрен один из способов повышения эксплуатационных характеристик ЭДН-покрытий из проволочных материалов посредством использования импульсного ионного азотирования. В работе предложено повышать износостойкостьь и срок службы деталей машин и механизмоа при их упрочнении и реновации комбинированными ЭДН-покрытиями с высокой плотностью, прочностью сцепления и микротвердостью за счет управления параметрами электродугового напыления и процесса азотирования напыленных покрытий. В работе рассмотрена возможность обеспечивать необходимые свойства поверхностей с целью повышения ресурса деталей машин путем регулирования факторами ЭДН. В частности, регулируя скорость и температуру струи транспортирующего газа и частиц можно уменьшить диаметр капель, повысить плотность и снизить окисляемость покрытий. В работе исследование влияния факторов процесса напыления: расхода и давления рабочих газов, состава горючей смеси, дистанции напыления, дисперсности распыления, свойств материала проволоки и др. на свойства ЭДН-покрытий. В работе рассмотрен один из способов повышения эксплуатационных характеристик ЭДН-покрытий из проволочных материалов посредством использования ионного азотирования

Fidelity of Quantum Interferometers

For a generic interferometer, the conditional probability density distribution, $p(\phi|m)$, for the phase $\phi$ given measurement outcome $m$, will generally have multiple peaks. Therefore, the phase sensitivity of an interferometer cannot be adequately characterized by the standard deviation, such as $\Delta\phi\sim 1/\sqrt{N}$ (the standard limit), or $\Delta\phi\sim 1/N$ (the Heisenberg limit). We propose an alternative measure of phase sensitivity--the fidelity of an interferometer--defined as the Shannon mutual information between the phase shift $\phi$\ and the measurement outcomes $m$. As an example application of interferometer fidelity, we consider a generic optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer, used as a sensor of a classical field. We find the surprising result that an entangled {\it N00N} state input leads to a lower fidelity than a Fock state input, for the same photon number.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Allergenicity of latex rubber products used in South African dental schools

Background. Latex sensitisation is recognised as a health problem among health care workers (HCWs) using latex products. The aim of this study was to quantify specific latex allergens in latex devices used in South African academic dental schools. The current study also compared the total protein content and the levels of specific allergens in these products.Methods. Fourteen latex examination gloves (powdered and non-powdered) and five dental rubber dams, representing 6 brands, from five dental academic institutions were analysed for latex allergens and total protein. Total protein content was determined using the BioRad DC protein assay kit and natural rubber allergen levels using a capture enyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) specific for Hev b 1, Hev b 3, Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02.Results. Hev b 6.02 was found in higher concentrations thanother natural rubber latex (NRL) allergens in the products analysed. Hev b 5 content ranged from 0 to 9.2 ìg/g and Hev b 6.02 from 0.09 to 61.5 ìg/g of sample. Hev b 1 levels were below the detection limit (DL) for 79% of the samples (15/19). Dental dams showed higher allergen levels (median 80.91 ìg/ g) than latex gloves (median 11.34 ìg/g). Powdered rubber samples also showed higher allergen levels (median 40.54 ìg/g) than non-powdered samples (median 5.31 ìg/g). Astatistically significant correlation was observed between totalprotein and total allergen (r=0.74,

Screening for potential effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in peri-urban creeks and rivers in Melbourne, Australia using mosquitofish and recombinant receptor-reporter gene assays

Sexually mature male mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) were collected from various sites around Melbourne in 2009 to evaluate the performance of gonopodial indices as a biomarker for endocrine disruption in Melbourne's waterways. The mosquitofish indices assessed were body length (BL), gonopodial length (GL)/BL ratio, ray 4:6 ratio and the absence or presence of hooks and serrae, and these varied between sites. The study was complemented by measurements of estrogenic, retinoid, thyroid and aryl hydrocarbon (AhR) receptor activities of the water. Male mosquitofish were 16.3-21.5 mm in length, and although there was a statistically significant positive relationship showing that bigger fish had longer gonopodia than small fish (r2 = 0.52, p < 0.001), there were few significant differences in GL/BL ratio of fish between sites. Measured estrogenic activity was mostly in the range 0.1-1.7 ng/L EEQ, with one site having much higher levels (similar to 12 ng/L EEQ). Aryl hydrocarbon (AhR) receptor activity was observed in all water samples (7-180 ng/L beta NF EQ), although there was no consistent pattern in the level of AhR activity observed, i.e., 'clean' sites were as likely to return a high AhR activity response as urban or wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)-impacted sites. There was no correlation between measurements of receptor actvity and gonopodial length (GL):BL ratio and BL. We conclude that the mosquitofish gonopodia only fulfills part of the criteria for biomarker selection for screening. The mosquitofish indices assessed were cheap and easy-to-perform procedures; however, there is no baseline data from the selected sites to evaluate whether differences in the morpholical indices observed at a site were a result of natural selection in the population or due to estrogenic exposure