1,204 research outputs found

    Competition between Visual Events Modulates the Influence of Salience during Free-Viewing of Naturalistic Videos

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    In daily life the brain is exposed to a large amount of external signals that compete for processing resources. The attentional system can select relevant information based on many possible combinations of goal-directed and stimulus-driven control signals. Here, we investigate the behavioral and physiological effects of competition between distinctive visual events during free-viewing of naturalistic videos. Nineteen healthy subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while viewing short video-clips of everyday life situations, without any explicit goal-directed task. Each video contained either a single semantically-relevant event on the left or right side (Lat-trials), or multiple distinctive events in both hemifields (Multi-trials). For each video, we computed a salience index to quantify the lateralization bias due to stimulus-driven signals, and a gaze index (based on eye-tracking data) to quantify the efficacy of the stimuli in capturing attention to either side. Behaviorally, our results showed that stimulus-driven salience influenced spatial orienting only in presence of multiple competing events (Multi-trials). fMRI results showed that the processing of competing events engaged the ventral attention network, including the right temporoparietal junction (R TPJ) and the right inferior frontal cortex. Salience was found to modulate activity in the visual cortex, but only in the presence of competing events; while the orienting efficacy of Multi-trials affected activity in both the visual cortex and posterior parietal cortex (PPC). We conclude that in presence of multiple competing events, the ventral attention system detects semantically-relevant events, while regions of the dorsal system make use of saliency signals to select relevant locations and guide spatial orienting

    EFFETTI DINAMICI DELL'INNALZAMENTO DEL CARICO PER ASSE DI ROTABILI FERROVIARI PER TRASPORTO MERCI

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    Lo sviluppo di un sistema di trasporto ferroviario merci richiede di minimizzare i tempi di percorrenza e massimizzare la capacità di carico dei convogli. Questo obiettivo può essere raggiunto mediante tre diverse strategie, che possono essere adottate separatamente o in modo congiunto. Le strategie consistono sostanzialmente nell'aumento della capacità di carico del singolo carro, nell'aumento della lunghezza del convoglio e nell'aumento della velocità del veicolo. La possibilità di attuare simultaneamente le tre strategie è possibile solo disponendo di infrastrutture dedicate e utilizzando una progettazione specifica della linea e dei veicoli. Il lavoro illustra gli effetti di un innalzamento del carico per asse, oltre al limite attualmente consentito in Italia, sui principali indicatori utilizzati dalla norma UIC per l'omologazione del materiale rotabile. Le valutazioni sono state effettuate utilizzando un tracciato reale di buona qualità ed un modello numerico di un veicolo di tipo Y2

    Discovery of Griffiths phase in itinerant magnetic semiconductor Fe_{1-x}Co_xS_2

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    Critical points that can be suppressed to zero temperature are interesting because quantum fluctuations have been shown to dramatically alter electron gas properties. Here, the metal formed by Co doping the paramagnetic insulator FeS2_2, Fe1x_{1-x}Cox_xS2_2, is demonstrated to order ferromagnetically at x>xc=0.01±0.005x>x_c=0.01\pm0.005 where we observe unusual transport, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties. We show that this magnetic semiconductor undergoes a percolative magnetic transition with distinct similarities to the Griffiths phase, including singular behavior at xcx_c and zero temperature.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

    Magnetic and thermodynamic properties of cobalt doped iron pyrite: Griffiths Phase in a magnetic semiconductor

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    Doping of the band insulator FeS2_2 with Co on the Fe site introduces a small density of itinerant carriers and magnetic moments. The lattice constant, AC and DC magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, and specific heat have been measured over the 0x0.0850\le x\le 0.085 range of Co concentration. The variation of the AC susceptibility with hydrostatic pressure has also been measured in a small number of our samples. All of these quantities show systematic variation with xx including a paramagnetic to disordered ferromagnetic transition at x=0.007±0.002x=0.007\pm 0.002. A detailed analysis of the changes with temperature and magnetic field reveal small power law dependencies at low temperatures for samples near the critical concentration for magnetism, and just above the Curie temperature at higher xx. In addition, the magnetic susceptibility and specific heat are non-analytic around H=0 displaying an extraordinarily sharp field dependence in this same temperature range. We interpret this behavior as due to the formation of Griffiths phases that result from the quenched disorder inherent in a doped semiconductor.Comment: 22 pages including 27 figure
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