The Effects of Individual Differences and Self-Consciousness on Nonverbal Decoding Accuracy

Nonverbal decoding refers to the act of recognizing and interpreting the meaning of other people’s nonverbal cues. Decoding skills vary depending on many factors such as personality and environment (Knapp & Hall, 2009). The present study focused on six individual difference measures (the EPI, IOS, PSI, SCS-R, 20-item Shyness Scale, and TSIS) and an experimentally manipulated variable of self-consciousness, to determine their relationship with nonverbal decoding accuracy on two tasks: the METT and the VNDT. The results indicated that four individual difference measures—extraversion, sociability, shyness, and moving toward others—interacted at significant levels with the self-consciousness variable. These predictor variables were found to have a greater impact on performance on the METT than on the VNDT. It is suggested that future research utilizes real interactions as the basis of their decoding task

Quasi-particle spectrum around a single vortex in s-wave superconductors

Making use of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation, we study the quasi-particle spectrum and the vortex core structure of a single vortex in quasi 2D s-wave superconductors for small $p_F\xi_0$, where $p_F$ is the Fermi momentum and $\xi_0=v_F/\Delta_0$ is the coherence length($\hbar=1$). In particular we find that the number of bound states decreases rapidly for decreasing $p_F\xi_0$. Also for $p_F\xi_0\sim 1$, the Kramer-Pesch effect stops around $T/T_c\simeq 0.3$.Comment: 9pages, 23figure

Bound states and extended states around a single vortex in the d-wave superconductors

Making use of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation for the d-wave superconductors, we investigate the quasi-particle spectrum around a single vortex. Taking $p_F\xi=10$, we found that there are bound states which are localized around the vortex core, and extended states which are rather uniform, for $|E|<\Delta$ where $E$ is the quasi-particle energy and $\Delta$ is the asymptotic value of the order parameter for away from the vortex.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Gossamer Superconductivity, New Paradigm?

We shall review our recent works on d-wave density wave (dDW) and gossamer superconductivity (i.e. d-wave superconductivity in the presence of dDW) in high-T$_{c}$ cuprates and CeCoIn$_{5}$. a) We show that both the giant Nernst effect and the angle dependent magnetoresistance (ADMR) in the pseudogap phases of the cuprates and CeCoIn$_{5}$ are manifestations of dDW. b) The phase diagram of high-T$_{c}$ cuprates is understood in terms of mean field theory, which includes two order parameters $\Delta_{1}$ and $\Delta_{2}$, where one order parameter is from dDW and the other from d-wave superconductivity. c) In the optimally to the overdoped region we find the spatially periodic dDW, an analogue of the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state, becomes more stable. d) In the underdoped region where $\Delta_{2}/\Delta_{1} \ll 1$ the Uemera relation is obtained within the present model. We speculate that the gossamer superconductivity is at the heart of high-T$_{c}$ cuprate superconductors, the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn$_{5}$ and the organic superconductors $\kappa$- (ET)$_{2}$Cu(NCS)$_{2}$ and (TMTSF)$_2$PF$_{6}$

Preliminary report of new method for ECG measurement of exercising birds

To measure the heart rate of diving seabirds, we tested a new method of attaching electrodes and a miniaturized ECG logger with high memory capacity (2 Mbytes) and high frequent sampling (5ms). A needle type electrode was inserted into subcutaneous tissue of Adelie penguins, and an electrode was implanted under the sternum of hens. Both electrodes were connected to a logger attached to the back of the bird. The mean±SD of heart rate of penguins for 3 h and of hens for 1 h during a resting period were 74.9±15.4 bpm and 245.3±12.1 bpm, respectively. The ECG showed electric noise during exercising periods. However, as R peaks were countable in those periods, it was possible to calculate the heart rate during exercising periods from the interval between R peaks. Though the implantation method needs some recovery time for birds after surgery before the ECG measurement, the method reduces the electric noise caused by the locomotor muscle and electrode movement and is suitable to measure the ECG of free-ranging seabirds during dives

High-Tc Cuprate Superconductivity in a Nutshell

Since the discovery of high-Tc cuprate superconductivity in 1986 many new experimental techniques and theoretical concepts have been developed. In particular it was shown that the BCS theory of d-wave superconductivity describes semi-quantitatively the high-Tc superconductivity. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that Volovik's approach is extremely useful for finding the quasiparticle properties in the vortex state. Here we survey these developments and forecast future directions.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Potential of proteins and their expression level in marine phytoplankton (Prymnesium parvum) as biomarker of N, P and Fe conditions in aquatic systems

Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and Iron (Fe) are im-portant nutrients for phytoplankton, and are key limiting nutrients in many marine systems. In the present study, growth and protein expression of ma-rine phytoplankton Prymnesium parvum under dif-ferent nitrate, phosphate and iron conditions were investigated in order to evaluate whether proteins and their expression level can be used as biomarker of N, P, and Fe conditions in aquatic systems. The growth of P. parvum increased with the increase of nitrate, phosphate and iron concentrations in the culture medium. Protein expression levels also differed significantly (p < 0.001) for different nitrate, phosphate and iron conditions in the culture medium. The expression level of an 83 kDa protein at 0 and 5 µM nitrate treatments differed significantly (p < 0.001) from those at 20, 30, 50 and 100 µM nitrate treatments, indicating the expression levels of this protein as a biomarker of N status in the culture me-dium. A 121 kDa protein was up-regulated at phos-phate stress conditions ([P] = 1.0 µM), while this pro-tein was not expressed at phosphate replete conditions ([P] = 5 µM). Therefore, the expression of 121 kDa protein in P. parvum is indicative of phosphate replete condition in aquatic systems. The expression level of a 42 kDa was significantly higher (p < 0.01) at Fe-stress condition ([Fe] = 0.01 µM) than Fe-replete conditions ([Fe] = 0.1 µM). In addition, a new protein of 103 kDa was only expressed under Fe-deplete condition ([Fe] = 0.01 µM). Therefore, the 42 and 103 kDa proteins can be used as a biomarker of Fe-limitation condition of aquatic systems. However, further studies (two dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry) are needed to identify and characterize these proteins in P. parvum

The distinct vibrational signature of grain-boundary water in nano-crystalline ice films

We have characterized the vibrational response of grain-boundary water in crystalline ice films consisting of nanometer-sized crystalline domains. The crystalline ice is grown isothermally on Ru(0 0 0 1), and the crystalline domain size is controlled by varying the crystallization temperature. A distinct vibrational feature in the OD stretching region is observed, which we attribute to grain-boundary water. The relative contribution of the grain-boundary vibrational response to the overall spectrum increases with decreasing crystal domain size. Its central frequency is located around 2500 cm−1, between that of amorphous solid water and crystalline ice