Electrophysiological Brain-Cardiac Coupling in Train Drivers during Monotonous Driving

Electrophysiological research has previously investigated monotony and the cardiac health of drivers independently; however, few studies have explored the association between the two. As such the present study aimed to examine the impact of monotonous train driving (indicated by electroencephalogram (EEG) activity) on an individual's cardiac health as measured by heart rate variability (HRV). Sixty-three train drivers participated in the present study, and were required to complete a monotonous train driver simulator task. During this task, a 32 lead EEG and a three-lead electrocardiogram were recorded from each participant. In the present analysis, the low (LF) and high frequency (HF) HRV parameters were associated with delta (p < 0.05), beta (p = 0.03) and gamma (p < 0.001) frequency EEG variables. Further, total HRV was associated with gamma activity, while sympathovagal balance (i.e., LF:HF ratio) was best associated fronto-temporal delta activity (p = 0.02). HRV and EEG parameters appear to be coupled, with the parameters of the delta and gamma EEG frequency bands potentially being the most important to this coupling. These relationships provide insight into the impact of a monotonous task on the cardiac health of train drivers, and may also be indicative of strategies employed to combat fatigue or engage with the driving task

Electric-Field-Induced Mott Insulating States in Organic Field-Effect Transistors

We consider the possibility that the electrons injected into organic field-effect transistors are strongly correlated. A single layer of acenes can be modelled by a Hubbard Hamiltonian similar to that used for the kappa-(BEDT-TTF)(2)X family of organic superconductors. The injected electrons do not necessarily undergo a transition to a Mott insulator state as they would in bulk crystals when the system is half-filled. We calculate the fillings needed for obtaining insulating states in the framework of the slave-boson theory and in the limit of large Hubbard repulsion, U. We also suggest that these Mott states are unstable above some critical interlayer coupling or long-range Coulomb interaction.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Deportation Stigma and Re-migration

Many, if not most, of those who are forcibly expelled from the country to which they have migrated will not settle in the country to which they have been returned but will leave again. A recent article examined some of the reasons why this should be so. It was argued that in addition to the factors that had caused the original migration, such as fear of persecution, continuing conflict, insecurity, poverty and lack of opportunity, deportation creates at least three additional reasons that make re-migration the most likely outcome. These were debt, family commitments and the shame of failure and or ‘contamination’ leading to stigmatisation. In this article, we explore the stigma of failure and of contamination attached to those deported, and the ways in which they respond to and manage this stigmatisation, including by re-migrating. We use Goffman's concept of stigma and the refinement offered by to further nuance understanding of the impact of deportation

Gangster in guerilla face: A transnational mirror of production between the USA and El Salvador

Doble cara (double/two-faced) is a key trope in Salvadoran political folklore. It is a folk theory of mimesis, which attempts to 'master the absent presence of the other' through a discourse of conspiracy. The term has a history in the US-funded Salvadoran civil war. In this article, I consider how doble cara has come to be deployed around a new and pivotal social subject - Salvadoran immigrant gang youth deported from the USA - and how these deported youth emerge as a packed and displaced sign for the trauma of post-civil war violence, the failed promise of peace, and ongoing entanglements between the USA and El Salvador. The article is written in conversation with Begoña Aretxaga, who inspired many of the questions explored here. Copyright © 2007 SAGE Publications

Spectroscopy and Dynamics of Jet-Cooled Styrene-Ammonia Clusters

Author Institution: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, IsraelThe $S_{0} \leftrightarrow S_{1}$ absorption and emission spectra of styrene have been analyzed with the help of an ab-initio calculation. It was found that out-of-plane vibrations undergo, in general, a red shift upon electronic excitation, while in-plane ones are not appreciably changed. An important exception to this rule is the $\nu_{17}$ mode, which is similar the $\nu_{14}(b_{2u})$ mode of benzene - it shows a considerable frequency increase upon excitation. The analysis led to some new assignments of certain vibronic transitions. In addition, the spectra of styrene-ammonia adducts were recorded. Cluster formation affects the frequencies of some normal modes of $S_{1}$ to a small but easily measured extent. It was found that in general, out-of-plane modes were blue shifted with respect to the bare molecule, while in-plane modes were essentially unchanged. Vibronic bands leading to out-of-plane in the cluster appear to be less intense than in the bare molecule; in contrast, some bands at about $500 cm^{-1}$ are found to have a considerably more intense than the corresponding bare molecule ones. These bands are due to a mode similar to the $\nu_{6}(e_{1m})$ mode of benzene, responsible for the vibronic coupling that makes the $^{1}A_{g} \leftrightarrow ^{1}B_{2u}$ transition weakly allowed. The dissociation energy of the styrene-ammonia cluster was roughly determined, by recording the dispersed emission spectra following excitation of the cluster to different vibronic levels. It was found to be $650 \pm 100$ for $S_{1}$ and $600\pm 100$ for $S_{0}$

Methodology and initial analysis results for development of non-invasive and hybrid driver drowsiness detection systems

Application of piezofilm movement sensors integrated into the car seat, seat belt and steering wheel was proposed for development of a non-invasive and hybrid systems for detecting driver drowsiness. A car simulator study was designed to collect physiological data for validation of this technology. Methodology for analysis of physiological data, independent assessment of driver drowsiness and development of drowsiness detection algorithm by means of sequential fitting and selection of regression models is presented. Statistical analysis shows that during the episodes of transitions to dangerous levels of drowsiness movement variations recorded by the seat sensors are decreasing. This finding indicates that the piezofilm movement sensors could be used as noninvasive devices for detecting the level of drowsiness on their own or in combination with other physiological signals. © 2007 IEEE