People are less susceptible to illusion when they use their hands to communicate rather than estimate

When we use our hands to estimate the length of a stick in the Müller-Lyer illusion, we are highly susceptible to the illusion. But when we prepare to act on sticks under the same conditions, we are significantly less susceptible. Here, we asked whether people are susceptible to illusion when they use their hands not to act on objects but to describe them in spontaneous co-speech gestures or conventional sign languages of the deaf. Thirty-two English speakers and 13 American Sign Language signers used their hands to act on, estimate the length of, and describe sticks eliciting the Müller-Lyer illusion. For both gesture and sign, the magnitude of illusion in the description task was smaller than the magnitude of illusion in the estimation task and not different from the magnitude of illusion in the action task. The mechanisms responsible for producing gesture in speech and sign thus appear to operate not on percepts involved in estimation but on percepts derived from the way we act on objects

Cooldown of Cryogenic Transfer Lines an Experimental Report

Pressure, temperature, and flow during cooldown of cryogenic transfer line

Estimate of compressive strength of an unidirectional composite lamina using cross-ply and angle-ply laminates

In this work has been estimated the compressive strength of a unidirectional lamina of a carbon/epoxy composite material, using the cross-ply and angle-ply laminates. Over the years various methods have been developed to deduce compressive properties of composite materials reinforced with long fibres. Each of these methods is characterized by a specific way of applying load to the specimen. The method chosen to perform the compression tests is the Wyoming Combined Loading Compression (CLC) Test Method, described in ASTM D 6641 / D 6641M-09. This method presents many advantages, especially: the load application on the specimen (end load combined with shear load), the reproducibility of measurements and the experimental equipment quite simplified. Six different laminates were tested in compressive tests. They were realized by the same unidirectional prepreg, but with different stacking sequences: two cross-ply [0/90]ns, two angle-ply [0/90/±45]ns and two unidirectional laminates [0]ns and [90]ns. The estimate of the compressive strength of the unidirectional laminates at 0°, was done by an indirect analytical method, developed from the classical lamination theory, and which uses a multiplicative parameter known as Back-out Factor (BF). The BF is determined by using the experimental values obtained from compression tests. Finally, extrapolated data were compared with prepreg manufacturer datashee

Flux quanta driven by high-density currents in low-impurity V3Si and LuNi2B2C: free flux flow and flux-core size effect

High density direct currents (DC) are used to drive flux quanta via the Lorentz force towards a highly ordered "free flux flow" (FFF) dynamic state, made possible by the weak-pinning environment of high-quality, single-crystal samples of two low-Tc superconducting compounds, V3Si and LuNi2B2C. We report the effect of the magnetic field-dependent fluxon core size on flux flow resistivity rho_f. Much progress has been made in minimizing the technical challenges associated with the use of high currents. Attainment of a FFF phase is indicated by the saturation at highest currents of flux-flow dissipation levels that are well below the normal state resistance and have field-dependent values. The field dependence of the corresponding rho_f is shown to be consistent with a prediction based on a model for the decrease of flux core size at higher fields in weak-coupling BCS s-wave materials.Comment: More empirical treatment of the magnetoresistive correction of V3Si data by additional measurement and analysis (involving two new coauthors, Favreau and Henderson). End result is the same, making for a stronger manuscrip

Estimate of compressive strength of an unidirectional composite lamina using cross-ply and angle-ply laminates

In this work has been estimated the compressive strength of a unidirectional lamina of a carbon/epoxy composite material, using the cross-ply and angle-ply laminates. Over the years various methods have been developed to deduce compressive properties of composite materials reinforced with long fibres. Each of these methods is characterized by a specific way of applying load to the specimen.The method chosen to perform the compression tests is the Wyoming Combined Loading Compression (CLC) Test Method, described in ASTM D 6641 / D 6641M-09. This method presents many advantages, especially: the load application on the specimen (end load combined with shear load), the reproducibility of measurementsand the experimental equipment quite simplified. Six different laminates were tested in compressive tests. They were realized by the same unidirectional prepreg, but with different stacking sequences: two cross-ply [0/90]ns, two angle-ply [0/90/±45]ns and two unidirectional laminates [0]ns and [90]ns.The estimate of the compressive strength of the unidirectional laminates at 0°, was done by an indirect analytical method, developed from the classical lamination theory, and which uses a multiplicative parameterknown as Back-out Factor (BF). The BF is determined by using the experimental values obtained from compression tests

Segmentation of British Sign Language (BSL): Mind the gap!

This study asks how users of British Sign Language (BSL) recognize individual signs in connected sign sequences. We examined whether this is achieved through modality-specific or modality-general segmentation procedures. A modality-specific feature of signed languages is that, during continuous signing, there are salient transitions between sign locations. We used the sign-spotting task to ask if and how BSL signers use these transitions in segmentation. A total of 96 real BSL signs were preceded by nonsense signs which were produced in either the target location or another location (with a small or large transition). Half of the transitions were within the same major body area (e.g., head) and half were across body areas (e.g., chest to hand). Deaf adult BSL users (a group of natives and early learners, and a group of late learners) spotted target signs best when there was a minimal transition and worst when there was a large transition. When location changes were present, both groups performed better when transitions were to a different body area than when they were within the same area. These findings suggest that transitions do not provide explicit sign-boundary cues in a modality-specific fashion. Instead, we argue that smaller transitions help recognition in a modality-general way by limiting lexical search to signs within location neighbourhoods, and that transitions across body areas also aid segmentation in a modality-general way, by providing a phonotactic cue to a sign boundary. We propose that sign segmentation is based on modality-general procedures which are core language-processing mechanisms

Indicatori di rischio nel trattamento dei dati

Rapporti di ricerca, n. 25