480 research outputs found
People v. Patterson: The Constitutionality of New York\u27s Affirmative Defense of Emotional Disturbance
Virtual Hand Illusion Induced by Visuomotor Correlations
Background: Our body schema gives the subjective impression of being highly stable. However, a number of easily-evoked illusions illustrate its remarkable malleability. In the rubber-hand illusion, illusory ownership of a rubber-hand is evoked by synchronous visual and tactile stimulation on a visible rubber arm and on the hidden real arm. Ownership is concurrent with a proprioceptive illusion of displacement of the arm position towards the fake arm. We have previously shown that this illusion of ownership plus the proprioceptive displacement also occurs towards a virtual 3D projection of an arm when the appropriate synchronous visuotactile stimulation is provided. Our objective here was to explore whether these illusions (ownership and proprioceptive displacement) can be induced by only synchronous visuomotor stimulation, in the absence of tactile stimulation.Methodology/Principal Findings: To achieve this we used a data-glove that uses sensors transmitting the positions of fingers to a virtually projected hand in the synchronous but not in the asynchronous condition. The illusion of ownership was measured by means of questionnaires. Questions related to ownership gave significantly larger values for the synchronous than for the asynchronous condition. Proprioceptive displacement provided an objective measure of the illusion and had a median value of 3.5 cm difference between the synchronous and asynchronous conditions. In addition, the correlation between the feeling of ownership of the virtual arm and the size of the drift was significant.Conclusions/Significance: We conclude that synchrony between visual and proprioceptive information along with motor activity is able to induce an illusion of ownership over a virtual arm. This has implications regarding the brain mechanisms underlying body ownership as well as the use of virtual bodies in therapies and rehabilitation
Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors and Nuclear Receptors Gene Expression in Infertile and Fertile Men from Italian Areas with Different Environmental Features
Internal levels of selected endocrine disruptors (EDs) (i.e., perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), di-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP), mono-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (MEHP), and bisphenol A (BPA)) were analyzed in blood/serum of infertile and fertile men from metropolitan, urban and rural Italian areas. PFOS and PFOA levels were also evaluated in seminal plasma. In peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of same subjects, gene expression levels of a panel of nuclear receptors (NRs), namely estrogen receptor α (ERα) estrogen receptor β (ERβ), androgen receptor (AR), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and pregnane X receptor (PXR) were also assessed. Infertile men from the metropolitan area had significantly higher levels of BPA and gene expression of all NRs, except PPARγ, compared to subjects from other areas. Subjects from urban areas had significantly higher levels of MEHP, whereas subjects from rural area had higher levels of PFOA in both blood and seminal plasma. Interestingly, ERα, ERβ, AR, PXR and AhR expression is directly correlated with BPA and inversely correlated with PFOA serum levels. Our study indicates the relevance of the living environment when investigating the exposure to specific EDs. Moreover, the NRs panel in PBMCs demonstrated to be a potential biomarker of effect to assess the EDs impact on reproductive health
Positive effects of robotic exoskeleton training of upper limb reaching movements after stroke
This study, conducted in a group of nine chronic patients with right-side hemiparesis after stroke, investigated the
effects of a robotic-assisted rehabilitation training with an upper limb robotic exoskeleton for the restoration of
motor function in spatial reaching movements. The robotic assisted rehabilitation training was administered for a
period of 6 weeks including reaching and spatial antigravity movements. To assess the carry-over of the observed
improvements in movement during training into improved function, a kinesiologic assessment of the effects of the
training was performed by means of motion and dynamic electromyographic analysis of reaching movements
performed before and after training. The same kinesiologic measurements were performed in a healthy control
group of seven volunteers, to determine a benchmark for the experimental observations in the patients’ group.
Moreover degree of functional impairment at the enrolment and discharge was measured by clinical evaluation
with upper limb Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale (FMA, 0–66 points), Modified Ashworth scale (MA, 0–60 pts) and
active ranges of motion. The robot aided training induced, independently by time of stroke, statistical significant
improvements of kinesiologic (movement time, smoothness of motion) and clinical (4.6 ± 4.2 increase in FMA,
3.2 ± 2.1 decrease in MA) parameters, as a result of the increased active ranges of motion and improved cocontraction
index for shoulder extension/flexion. Kinesiologic parameters correlated significantly with clinical
assessment values, and their changes after the training were affected by the direction of motion (inward vs.
outward movement) and position of target to be reached (ipsilateral, central and contralateral peripersonal space).
These changes can be explained as a result of the motor recovery induced by the robotic training, in terms of
regained ability to execute single joint movements and of improved interjoint coordination of elbow and shoulder
joints
Transoesophageal echocardiography in patients without arterial and major cardiac sources of embolism: difference between stroke subtypes.
Evolution of the cosmic ray anisotropy above 10^{14} eV
The amplitude and phase of the cosmic ray anisotropy are well established
experimentally between 10^{11} eV and 10^{14} eV. The study of their evolution
into the energy region 10^{14}-10^{16} eV can provide a significant tool for
the understanding of the steepening ("knee") of the primary spectrum. In this
letter we extend the EAS-TOP measurement performed at E_0 around 10^{14} eV, to
higher energies by using the full data set (8 years of data taking). Results
derived at about 10^{14} and 4x10^{14} eV are compared and discussed. Hints of
increasing amplitude and change of phase above 10^{14} eV are reported. The
significance of the observation for the understanding of cosmic ray propagation
is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication on ApJ Letter
Measurement of the cosmic ray hadron spectrum up to 30 TeV at mountain altitude: the primary proton spectrum
The flux of cosmic ray hadrons at the atmospheric depth of 820 g/cm^2 has
been measured by means of the EAS-TOP hadron calorimeter (Campo Imperatore,
National Gran Sasso Laboratories, 2005 m a.s.l.). The hadron spectrum is well
described by a single power law : S(E_h) = (2.25 +- 0.21 +- 0.34(sys))
10^(-7)(E_h/1000)^(-2.79 +- 0.05) m^(-2) s^(-1) sr^(-1) GeV^(-1) over the
energy range 30 GeV-30 TeV. The procedure and the accuracy of the measurement
are discussed. The primary proton spectrum is derived from the data by using
the CORSIKA/QGSJET code to compute the local hadron flux as a function of the
primary proton spectrum and to calculate and subtract the heavy nuclei
contribution (basing on direct measurements). Over a wide energy range E_0 =
0.5-50 TeV its best fit is given by a single power law : S(E_0) = (9.8 +- 1.1
+- 1.6(sys)) 10^(-5) (E_0/1000)^(-2.80 +- 0.06) m^(-2) s^(-1) sr^(-1) GeV^(-1).
The validity of the CORSIKA/QGSJET code for such application has been checked
using the EAS-TOP and KASCADE experimental data by reproducing the ratio of the
measured hadron fluxes at the two experimental depths (820 and 1030 g/cm^2
respectively) at better than 10% in the considered energy range.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physic
Three-dimensional imaging of waves and floes in the marginal ice zone during a cyclone
The marginal ice zone is the dynamic interface between the open ocean and consolidated inner pack ice. Surface gravity waves regulate marginal ice zone extent and properties, and, hence, atmosphere-ocean fluxes and ice advance/retreat. Over the past decade, seminal experimental campaigns have generated much needed measurements of wave evolution in the marginal ice zone, which, notwithstanding the prominent knowledge gaps that remain, are underpinning major advances in understanding the region’s role in the climate system. Here, we report three-dimensional imaging of waves from a moving vessel and simultaneous imaging of floe sizes, with the potential to enhance the marginal ice zone database substantially. The images give the direction–frequency wave spectrum, which we combine with concurrent measurements of wind speeds and reanalysis products to reveal the complex multi-component wind-plus-swell nature of a cyclone-driven wave field, and quantify evolution of large-amplitude waves in sea ice
Correlation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals serum levels and white blood cells gene expression of nuclear receptors in a population of infertile women
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