Time-Dependent Changes in Human Corticospinal Excitability Reveal Value-Based Competition for Action during Decision Processing

Our choices often require appropriate actions to obtain a preferred outcome, but the neural underpinnings that link decision making and action selection remain largely undetermined. Recent theories propose that action selection occurs simultaneously, i.e., parallel in time, with the decision process. Specifically, it is thought that action selection in motor regions originates from a competitive process that is gradually biased by evidence signals originating in other regions, such as those specialized in value computations. Biases reflecting the evaluation of choice options should thus emerge in the motor system before the decision process is complete. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation, we sought direct physiological evidence for this prediction by measuring changes in corticospinal excitability in human motor cortex during value-based decisions. We found that excitability for chosen versus unchosen actions distinguishes the forthcoming choice before completion of the decision process. Both excitability and reaction times varied as a function of the subjective value-difference between chosen and unchosen actions, consistent with this effect being value-driven. This relationship was not observed in the absence of a decision. Our data provide novel evidence in humans that internally generated value-based decisions influence the competition between action representations in motor cortex before the decision process is complete. This is incompatible with models of serial processing of stimulus, decision, and action

Perceived Health Issues: A perspective from East-African immigrants

This Study explores Somali and Ethiopian community leaders’ perceptions about health issues in their communities and the barriers to access and utilization of primary health care services. Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with community leaders and thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews. Participants identified chronic diseases, the unhealthy behaviors associated with them, and mental health as major health issues. Infectious diseases were secondarily mentioned as important health concerns. Lack of insurance and limited understanding of the health system were viewed as barriers to utilizing health care services. Other identified needs were: better education within immigrant communities about major health issues, enhanced cultural awareness of health care providers, improved health care access, and assistance with the acculturation process. Recommendations to improve the communities’ health status included enhancing providers' cultural competence, educating immigrants about major health issues, and increasing mental health care access

Perceived Health Issues: A perspective from East-African immigrants

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">This Study explores Somali and Ethiopian community leaders’ perceptions about health issues in their communities and the barriers to access and utilization of primary health care services.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with community leaders and thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Participants identified chronic diseases, the unhealthy behaviors associated with them, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and mental health as major health issues. Infectious diseases were secondarily mentioned as important health concerns. Lack of insurance and limited understanding of the health system were viewed as barriers to utilizing health care services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other identified needs were: better education within immigrant communities about major health issues, enhanced cultural awareness of health care providers, improved health care access, and assistance with the acculturation process.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Recommendations to improve the communities’ health status included enhancing providers' cultural competence, educating immigrants about major health issues, and increasing mental health care access.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span

Metrological large range magnetic force microscopy

A new metrological large range magnetic force microscope (Met. LR-MFM) has been developed. In its design, the scanner motion is measured by using three laser interferometers along the x, y, and z axes. Thus, the scanner position and the lift height of the MFM can be accurately and traceably determined with subnanometer accuracy, allowing accurate and traceable MFM measurements. The Met. LR-MFM has a measurement range of 25 mm × 25 mm × 5 mm, larger than conventional MFMs by almost three orders of magnitude. It is capable of measuring samples from the nanoscale to the macroscale, and thus, it has the potential to bridge different magnetic field measurement tools having different spatially resolved scales. Three different measurement strategies referred to as Topo&MFM, MFMXY, and MFMZ have been developed. The Topo&MFM is designed for measuring topography and MFM phase images, similar to conventional MFMs. The MFMXY differs from the Topo&MFM as it does not measure the topography profile of surfaces at the second and successive lines, thus reducing tip wear and saving measurement time. The MFMZ allows the imaging of the stray field in the xz- or yz-planes. A number of measurement examples on a multilayered thin film reference sample made of [Co(0.4 nm)/Pt(0.9 nm)]100 and on a patterned magnetic multilayer [Co(0.4 nm)/Pt(0.9 nm)]10 with stripes with a 9.9 μm line width and 20 μm periodicity are demonstrated, indicating excellent measurement performance

Solvable simulation of a double-well problem in PT symmetric quantum mechanics

Within quantum mechanics which works with parity-pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians we study the tunneling in a symmetric double well formed by two delta functions with complex conjugate strengths. The model is exactly solvable and exhibits several interesting features. Besides an amazingly robust absence of any PT symmetry breaking, we observe a quasi-degeneracy of the levels which occurs all over the energy range including the high-energy domain. This pattern is interpreted as a manifestation of certain "quantum beats".Comment: 12 pages incl. 7 figure

Measurement of the Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section in pp collisions at 7 TeV

The production of b jets in association with a Z/gamma* boson is studied using proton-proton collisions delivered by the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and recorded by the CMS detector. The inclusive cross section for Z/gamma* + b-jet production is measured in a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 inverse femtobarns. The Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section with Z/gamma* to ll (where ll = ee or mu mu) for events with the invariant mass 60 < M(ll) < 120 GeV, at least one b jet at the hadron level with pT > 25 GeV and abs(eta) < 2.1, and a separation between the leptons and the jets of Delta R > 0.5 is found to be 5.84 +/- 0.08 (stat.) +/- 0.72 (syst.) +(0.25)/-(0.55) (theory) pb. The kinematic properties of the events are also studied and found to be in agreement with the predictions made by the MadGraph event generator with the parton shower and the hadronisation performed by PYTHIA.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physic

Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments

In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one

A Study of Cosmic Ray Secondaries Induced by the Mir Space Station Using AMS-01

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a high energy particle physics experiment that will study cosmic rays in the $\sim 100 \mathrm{MeV}$ to $1 \mathrm{TeV}$ range and will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) for at least 3 years. A first version of AMS-02, AMS-01, flew aboard the space shuttle \emph{Discovery} from June 2 to June 12, 1998, and collected $10^8$ cosmic ray triggers. Part of the \emph{Mir} space station was within the AMS-01 field of view during the four day \emph{Mir} docking phase of this flight. We have reconstructed an image of this part of the \emph{Mir} space station using secondary $\pi^-$ and $\mu^-$ emissions from primary cosmic rays interacting with \emph{Mir}. This is the first time this reconstruction was performed in AMS-01, and it is important for understanding potential backgrounds during the 3 year AMS-02 mission.Comment: To be submitted to NIM B Added material requested by referee. Minor stylistic and grammer change

Protons in near earth orbit

The proton spectrum in the kinetic energy range 0.1 to 200 GeV was measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during space shuttle flight STS-91 at an altitude of 380 km. Above the geomagnetic cutoff the observed spectrum is parameterized by a power law. Below the geomagnetic cutoff a substantial second spectrum was observed concentrated at equatorial latitudes with a flux ~ 70 m^-2 sec^-1 sr^-1. Most of these second spectrum protons follow a complicated trajectory and originate from a restricted geographic region.Comment: 19 pages, Latex, 7 .eps figure

Search for antihelium in cosmic rays

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) was flown on the space shuttle Discovery during flight STS-91 in a 51.7 degree orbit at altitudes between 320 and 390 km. A total of 2.86 * 10^6 helium nuclei were observed in the rigidity range 1 to 140 GV. No antihelium nuclei were detected at any rigidity. An upper limit on the flux ratio of antihelium to helium of < 1.1 * 10^-6 is obtained.Comment: 18 pages, Latex, 9 .eps figure