1,993 research outputs found
Proprioceptive perception of phase variability
Previous work has established that judgments of relative phase variability of 2 visually presented oscillators covary with mean relative phase. Ninety degrees is judged to be more variable than 0° or 180°, independently of the actual level of phase variability. Judged levels of variability also increase at 180°. This pattern of judgments matches the pattern of movement coordination results. Here, participants judged the phase variability of their own finger movements, which they generated by actively tracking a manipulandum moving at 0°, 90°, or 180°, and with 1 of 4 levels of Phase Variability. Judgments covaried as an inverted U-shaped function of mean relative phase. With an increase in frequency, 180° was judged more variable whereas 0° was not. Higher frequency also reduced discrimination of the levels of Phase Variability. This matching of the proprioceptive and visual results, and of both to movement results, supports the hypothesized role of online perception in the coupling of limb movements. Differences in the 2 cases are discussed as due primarily to the different sensitivities of the systems to the information
The Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment in the Reduced Minimal 3-3-1 Model
We study the muon anomalous magnetic moment in the context of
the reduced minimal 3-3-1 model recently proposed in the literature. In
particular, its spectrum contains a doubly charged scalar () and
gauge boson (), new singly charged vectors () and a
boson, each of which might give a sizeable contribution to the
. We compute the 1-loop contributions from all these new particles
to the . We conclude that the doubly charged vector boson provides
the dominant contribution, and by comparing our results with the experimental
constraints we derive an expected value for the scale of symmetry breaking TeV. We also note that, if the
discrepancy in the anomalous moment is resolved in the future without this
model then the constraints will tighten to requiring TeV with
current precision, and will entirely rule out the model if the expected
precision is achieved by the future experiment at Fermilab.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
The shifting landscape of prime ministerial accountability to parliament: an analysis of Liaison Committee scrutiny sessions
Prime ministerial power is always contingent, based on the utilisation of personal and institutional resources, subject to various formal and informal constraints. Parliament is both a political resource to be utilised, but also a veto-player. In the absence of formal mechanisms setting out the requirements for UK prime ministerial accountability to parliament, a fluid and essentially personalised relationship has developed. Regular prime ministerial appearances before the House of Commons Liaison Committee, begun in 2002, have added to parliament’s scrutiny toolkit. This article considers the accountability of the prime minister to parliament by analysing the emergence and development of the Liaison Committee evidence sessions, and draws on interviews with participants and examination of the session transcripts, in order to assess the value of this scrutiny mechanism within the broader framework of prime ministerial-legislative relation
PRETA Air: Hazardous Air Pollutants
This report shows that people living in a 10-county region of southwestern Pennsylvania have a significantly higher than acceptable risk of developing cancer due to exposure to toxic air pollution released by manufacturing processes, energy production and diesel combustionThe Pittsburgh Regional Environmental Threats Analysis Report -- funded by The Heinz Endowments -- analyzes publicly available data on hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), also known as air toxics. Air toxics include approximately 200 pollutants identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as respiratory, neurological and reproductive disorders. The report is the third in a series as part of a project examining major threats to human health and the environment in southwestern Pennsylvania
Quantum noise induced entanglement and chaos in the dissipative quantum model of brain
We discuss some features of the dissipative quantum model of brain in the
frame of the formalism of quantum dissipation. Such a formalism is based on the
doubling of the system degrees of freedom. We show that the doubled modes
account for the quantum noise in the fluctuating random force in the
system-environment coupling. Remarkably, such a noise manifests itself through
the coherent structure of the system ground state. The entanglement of the
system modes with the doubled modes is shown to be permanent in the infinite
volume limit. In such a limit the trajectories in the memory space are
classical chaotic trajectories.Comment: 14 page
Quay voices in Glasgow museums : an oral history of Glasgow dock workers
Notes on oral history project commissioned by Glasgow museums about Glasgow dock workers
A 331 WIMPy Dark Radiation Model
Recent observations suggest that the number of relativistic degrees of
freedom in the early universe might exceed what is predicted in the standard
cosmological model. If even a small, percent-level fraction of dark matter
particles are produced relativistically, they could mimic the effect of an
extra realistic species at matter-radiation equality while obeying BBN, CMB and
Structure Formation bounds. We show that this scenario is quite naturally
realized with a weak-scale dark matter particle and a high-scale ``mother''
particle within a well motivated 3-3-1 gauge model, which is particularly
interesting for being consistent with electroweak precision measurements, with
recent LHC results, and for offering a convincing explanation for the number of
generations in the Standard Model.Comment: 10 pages,7 figures. Matches Published EPJC versio
The Effect of a Uniform Cross-flow on the Circulation of Vortex Rings
This paper describes observations and measurements of the effects of a uniform cross flow on the vorticity field and circulation of a laminar vortex ring ejected from an elevated pipe. From particle-image velocimetry (PIV) in the plane defined by the axis of the vortex ring and the direction of the cross flow, we observe the growth and decay of the vortex-ring and its interaction with the shear layer which is produced by the cross flow over the surface of the elevated pipe. As the vortex ring is generated it passes through and disrupts this shear layer. Some rotational fluid from the shear layer is carried with the vortex ring as it moves away from the elevated pipe. From the PIV data, we calculate a positive-core circulation on the upstream side of the vortex ring and a negative circulation on the other side. The growth rate of positive-core circulation is reduced by cancellation with the cross-flow shear-layer vorticity which is of opposite sign. The initial negative circulation is equal to the circulation of the cross-flow shear layer, but the cross flow and the cross-flow shear layer have no effect of the growth rate of the negative circulation
Multistability and metastability: understanding dynamic coordination in the brain
Multistable coordination dynamics exists at many levels, from multifunctional neural circuits in vertebrates and invertebrates to large-scale neural circuitry in humans. Moreover, multistability spans (at least) the domains of action and perception, and has been found to place constraints upon, even dictating the nature of, intentional change and the skill-learning process. This paper reviews some of the key evidence for multistability in the aforementioned areas, and illustrates how it has been measured, modelled and theoretically understood. It then suggests how multistability—when combined with essential aspects of coordination dynamics such as instability, transitions and (especially) metastability—provides a platform for understanding coupling and the creative dynamics of complex goal-directed systems, including the brain and the brain–behaviour relation
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