210 research outputs found
Category-length and category-strength effects using images of scenes
Global matching models have provided an important theoretical framework for recognition memory. Key predictions of this class of models are that (1) increasing the number of occurrences in a study list of some items affects the performance on other items (list-strength effect) and that (2) adding new items results in a deterioration of performance on the other items (list-length effect). Experimental confirmation of these predictions has been difficult, and the results have been inconsistent. A review of the existing literature, however, suggests that robust length and strength effects do occur when sufficiently similar hard-to-label items are used. In an effort to investigate this further, we had participants study lists containing one or more members of visual scene categories (bathrooms, beaches, etc.). Experiments 1 and 2 replicated and extended previous findings showing that the study of additional category members decreased accuracy, providing confirmation of the category-length effect. Experiment 3 showed that repeating some category members decreased the accuracy of nonrepeated members, providing evidence for a category-strength effect. Experiment 4 eliminated a potential challenge to these results. Taken together, these findings provide robust support for global matching models of recognition memory. The overall list lengths, the category sizes, and the number of repetitions used demonstrated that scene categories are well-suited to testing the fundamental assumptions of global matching models. These include (A) interference from memories for similar items and contexts, (B) nondestructive interference, and (C) that conjunctive information is made available through a matching operation
The role of frontoparietal cortex across the functional stages of visual search
Areas in frontoparietal cortex have been shown to be active in a range of cognitive tasks and have been proposed to play a key role in goal-driven activities (Dosenbach, N. U. F., Fair, D. A., Miezin, F. M., Cohen, A. L., Wenger, K. K., Dosenbach, R. A. T., et al. Distinct brain networks for adaptive and stable task control in humans. , , 11073-11078, 2007; Duncan, J. The multiple-demand (MD) system of the primate brain: Mental programs for intelligent behavior. , , 172-179, 2010). Here, we examine the role this frontoparietal system plays in visual search. Visual search, like many complex tasks, consists of a sequence of operations: target selection, stimulus-response (SR) mapping, and response execution. We independently manipulated the difficulty of target selection and SR mapping in a novel visual search task that involved identical stimulus displays. Enhanced activity was observed in areas of frontal and parietal cortex during both difficult target selection and SR mapping. In addition, anterior insula and ACC showed preferential representation of SR-stage information, whereas the medial frontal gyrus, precuneus, and inferior parietal sulcus showed preferential representation of target selection-stage information. A connectivity analysis revealed dissociable neural circuits underlying visual search. We hypothesize that these circuits regulate distinct mental operations associated with the allocation of spatial attention, stimulus decisions, shifts of task set from selection to SR mapping, and SR mapping. Taken together, the results show frontoparietal involvement in all stages of visual search and a specialization with respect to cognitive operations
Electroweak Baryogenesis: Concrete in a SUSY Model with a Gauge Singlet
SUSY models with a gauge singlet easily allow for a strong first order
electroweak phase transition (EWPT) if the vevs of the singlet and Higgs fields
are of comparable size. We discuss the profile of the stationary expanding
bubble wall and CP-violation in the effective potential, in particular
transitional CP-violation inside the bubble wall during the EWPT. The
dispersion relations for charginos contain CP-violating terms in the WKB
approximation. These enter as source terms in the Boltzmann equations for the
(particle--antiparticle) chemical potentials and fuel the creation of a baryon
asymmetry through the weak sphaleron in the hot phase. This is worked out for
concrete parameters.Comment: 46 pages, LaTeX, 11 figures, discussion of source terms and transport
equations modified, version to appear in Nucl. Phys.
Relative spins and excitation energies of superdeformed bands in 190Hg: Further evidence for octupole vibration
An experiment using the Eurogam Phase II gamma-ray spectrometer confirms the
existence of an excited superdeformed (SD) band in 190Hg and its very unusual
decay into the lowest SD band over 3-4 transitions. The energies and dipole
character of the transitions linking the two SD bands have been firmly
established. Comparisons with RPA calculations indicate that the excited SD
band can be interpreted as an octupole-vibrational structure.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 4 figures available via WWW at
http://www.phy.anl.gov/bgo/bc/hg190_nucl_ex.htm
Development of endotoxin tolerance does not influence the response to a challenge with the mucosal live-attenuated influenza vaccine in humans in vivo
Introduction: The effects of bacterial infections on the response to subsequent viral infections are largely unknown. This is important to elucidate to increase insight into the pathophysiology of bacterial and viral co-infections, and to assess whether bacterial infections may influence the course of viral infections. Methods: Healthy male subjects received either bacterial endotoxin [Escherichia coli-derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 2 ng/kg, n = 15] or placebo (n = 15) intravenously, followed by intranasal Fluenz (live-attenuated influenza vaccine) 1 week later. Results: LPS administration resulted in increased plasma cytokine levels and development of endotoxin tolerance in vivo and ex vivo, illustrated by attenuated cytokine production upon rechallenge with LPS. Following Fluenz administration, infectivity for the Fluenz A/B strains was similar between the LPS-Fluenz and placebo-Fluenz groups (13/15 subjects in both groups). Also, the Fluenz-induced increase in temperature and IL-6, G-CSF and IP-10 concentrations in nasal wash were similar between both groups. Conclusion: While endotoxemia profoundly attenuates the immune response upon a second LPS challenge, it does not influence the Fluenz-induced immune response. These results suggest immune suppression after bacterial infection does not alter the response to a subsequent viral infection
Refined mapping of autoimmune disease associated genetic variants with gene expression suggests an important role for non-coding RNAs
Genome-wide association and fine-mapping studies in 14 autoimmune diseases (AID) have implicated more than 250 loci in one or more of these diseases. As more than 90% of AID-associated SNPs are intergenic or intronic, pinpointing the causal genes is challenging. We performed a systematic analysis to link 460 SNPs that are associated with 14 AID to causal genes using transcriptomic data from 629 blood samples. We were able to link 71 (39%) of the AID-SNPs to two or more nearby genes, providing evidence that for part of the AID loci multiple causal genes exist. While 54 of the AID loci are shared by one or more AID, 17% of them do not share candidate causal genes. In addition to finding novel genes such as ULK3, we also implicate novel disease mechanisms and pathways like autophagy in celiac disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, 42 of the AID SNPs specifically affected the expression of 53 non-coding RNA genes. To further understand how the non-coding genome contributes to AID, the SNPs were linked to functional regulatory elements, which suggest a model where AID genes are regulated by network of chromatin looping/non-coding RNAs interactions. The looping model also explains how a causal candidate gene is not necessarily the gene closest to the AID SNP, which was the case in nearly 50% of cases
On the mechanisms governing gas penetration into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection
A new 1D radial fluid code, IMAGINE, is used to simulate the penetration of gas into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection (MGI). The main result is that the gas is in general strongly braked as it reaches the plasma, due to mechanisms related to charge exchange and (to a smaller extent) recombination. As a result, only a fraction of the gas penetrates into the plasma. Also, a shock wave is created in the gas which propagates away from the plasma, braking and compressing the incoming gas. Simulation results are quantitatively consistent, at least in terms of orders of magnitude, with experimental data for a D 2 MGI into a JET Ohmic plasma. Simulations of MGI into the background plasma surrounding a runaway electron beam show that if the background electron density is too high, the gas may not penetrate, suggesting a possible explanation for the recent results of Reux et al in JET (2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 093013)
Measurement of the azimuthal anisotropy of Y(1S) and Y(2S) mesons in PbPb collisions at âNN = 5.02 TeV
The second-order Fourier coefficients (Ï
) characterizing the azimuthal distributions of ΄(1S) and ΄(2S) mesons produced in PbPb collisions at = 5.02 TeV are studied. The ΄mesons are reconstructed in their dimuon decay channel, as measured by the CMS detector. The collected data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.7 nb. The scalar product method is used to extract the Ï
coefficients of the azimuthal distributions. Results are reported for the rapidity range |y| < 2.4, in the transverse momentum interval 0 < p < 50 GeV/c, and in three centrality ranges of 10â30%, 30â50% and 50â90%. In contrast to the J/Ï mesons, the measured Ï
values for the ΄ mesons are found to be consistent with zero
- âŠ