1,734 research outputs found
Reduced attention-driven auditory sensitivity in hallucination-prone individuals
Background
Evidence suggests that auditory hallucinations may result from abnormally enhanced auditory sensitivity.
Aims
To investigate whether there is an auditory processing bias in healthy individuals who are prone to experiencing auditory hallucinations.
Method
Two hundred healthy volunteers performed a temporal order judgement task in which they determined whether an auditory or a visual stimulus came first under conditions of directed attention (‘attend-auditory’ and ‘attend-visual’ conditions). The Launay–Slade Hallucination Scale was used to divide the sample into high and low hallucination-proneness groups.
Results
The high hallucination-proneness group exhibited a reduced sensitivity to auditory stimuli under the attend-auditory condition. By contrast, attention-directed visual sensitivity did not differ significantly between groups.
Conclusions
Healthy individuals prone to hallucinatory experiences may possess a bias in attention towards internal auditory stimuli at the expense of external sounds. Interventions involving the redistribution of attentional resources would have therapeutic benefit in patients experiencing auditory hallucinations
Cloning and nucleotide sequencing of the S4 genome segment of avian reovirus S1133
The sequence of RNA genome segment S4 of the avian reovirus (ARV) strain S1133 was determined. S4 RNA is 1185 base pairs long and contains one open reading frame encoding a protein of 367 amino acid residues (40.6kDa), the similar size as the known S4 gene product (sigma NS), with a net charge of -1 at neutral pH. The S4 RNA sequence possesses a pentanucleotide sequence UCAUC at the 3'-terminus of its plus strand like in ARV S1 and S3 segments and ten segments of mammalian reovirus (MRV). The predicted amino acid sequence comparison revealed that the homology is 44.02%, 45.71%, and 42.33% for ARV sigma NS and three serotypes of MRV sigma NS, respectively. The relatively high content of alpha-helix structure in the C-terminal portion of ARV sigma NS suggests that this protein may functionally relate to MRV sigma NS. Northern blot hybridization showed that a P-32-labeled cDNA insert S4-49 from ARV S4 RNA cross-hybridized with the corresponding RNA segments of all seven strains of ARV tested
Unified Field Theory From Enlarged Transformation Group. The Covariant Derivative for Conservative Coordinate Transformations and Local Frame Transformations
Pandres has developed a theory in which the geometrical structure of a real
four-dimensional space-time is expressed by a real orthonormal tetrad, and the
group of diffeomorphisms is replaced by a larger group called the conservation
group. This paper extends the geometrical foundation for Pandres' theory by
developing an appropriate covariant derivative which is covariant under all
local Lorentz (frame) transformations, including complex Lorentz
transformations, as well as conservative transformations. After defining this
extended covariant derivative, an appropriate Lagrangian and its resulting
field equations are derived. As in Pandres' theory, these field equations
result in a stress-energy tensor that has terms which may automatically
represent the electroweak field. Finally, the theory is extended to include
2-spinors and 4-spinors.Comment: Aug 25 replacement has corrected margin width
Synthesis and characterization of Na03RhO206H2O - a semiconductor with a weak ferromagnetic component
We have prepared the oxyhydrate Na03RhO206H2O by extracting Na+ cations from
NaRhO2 and intercalating water molecules using an aqueous solution of Na2S2O8.
Synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and
energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX) reveal that a non-stoichiometric
Na03(H2O)06 network separates layers of edge-sharing RhO6 octahedra containing
Rh3+(4d6, S=0) and Rh4+ (4d5, S=1/2). The resistivities of NaRhO2 and
Na03RhO206H2O (T < 300) reveal insulating and semi-conducting behavior with
activation gaps of 134 meV and 7.8 meV, respectively. Both Na03RhO206H2O and
NaRhO2 show paramagnetism at room temperature, however, the sodium-deficient
sample exhibits simultaneously a weak but experimentally reproducible
ferromagnetic component. Both samples exhibit a temperature-independent Pauli
paramagnetism, for NaRhO2 at T > 50 K and for Na03RhO206H2O at T > 25 K. The
relative magnitudes of the temperature-independent magnetic susceptibilities,
that of the oxide sample being half that of the oxyhydrate, is consistent with
a higher density of thermally accessible electron states at the Fermi level in
the hydrated sample. At low temperatures the magnetic moments rise sharply,
providing evidence of localized and weakl -ordered electronic spins.Comment: 15 fages 5 figures Solid State Communications in prin
Bethe Ansatz for the Weakly Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process and phase transition in the current distribution
The probability distribution of the current in the asymmetric simple
exclusion process is expected to undergo a phase transition in the regime of
weak asymmetry of the jumping rates. This transition was first predicted by
Bodineau and Derrida using a linear stability analysis of the hydrodynamical
limit of the process and further arguments have been given by Mallick and
Prolhac. However it has been impossible so far to study what happens after the
transition. The present paper presents an analysis of the large deviation
function of the current on both sides of the transition from a Bethe ansatz
approach of the weak asymmetry regime of the exclusion process.Comment: accepted to J.Stat.Phys, 1 figure, 1 reference, 2 paragraphs adde
Performance analysis on transfer platforms in frame bridge based automated container terminals
10.1155/2013/593847Mathematical Problems in Engineering2013
Tuning optical modes in slab photonic crystal by atomic layer deposition and laser-assisted oxidation
The authors experimentally investigate the effects of atomic layer deposition (ALD) and laser-assisted oxidation on the optical modes in GaAs L3 photonic crystal air-bridge cavities, using layers of InAs quantum dots as internal light source. Four distinct optical mode peaks are observed in the photonic bandgap and they show different wavelength-redshifts (0–6.5 nm) as the photonic crystal surface is coated with an Al2O3 layer (0–5.4 nm thick). Numerical finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations can well-reproduce the experimental result and give insight into the origin of the shifts of modes with different spatial profiles. By combining the ALD coating with in situ laser-assisted oxidation, we are able to both redshift and blueshift the optical modes and we attribute the blueshift to the formation of a GaAs-oxide at the expense of GaAs at the interface between GaAs and the Al2O3 layer. This result can be quantitatively reproduced by including a GaAs-oxide layer into the FDTD model. Selective etching experiments, confirm that this GaAs-oxide layer is mainly at the interface between GaAs and Al2O3 layers
Coordinating Pricing and Empty Container Repositioning in Two-Depot Shipping Systems
This paper studies joint decisions on pricing and empty container repositioning in two-
depot shipping services with stochastic shipping demand. We formulate the problem as a
stochastic dynamic programming (DP) model. The exact DP may have a high-dimensional
state space due to in-transit containers. To cope with the curse of dimensionality, we develop
an approximate model where the number of in-transit containers on each vessel is approxi-
mated with a fixed container flow predetermined by solving a static version of the problem.
Moreover, we show that the approximate value function is L♮-concave, thereby characterizing
the structure of the optimal control policy for the approximate model. With the upper bound
obtained by solving the information relaxation-based dual of the exact DP, we numerically
show that the control policies generated from our approximate model are close to optimal
when transit times span multiple periods
Moment of Inertia and Quadrupole Response Function of a Trapped Superfluid
We derive an explicit relationship between the moment of inertia and the
quadrupole response function of an interacting gas confined in a harmonic trap.
The relationship holds for both Bose and Fermi systems and is well suited to
reveal the effects of irrotationality of the superfluid motion. Recent
experimental results on the scissors mode are used to extract the value of the
moment of inertia of a trapped Bose gas and to point out the deviations from
the rigid value due to superfluidity.Comment: 6 page
Three-Body approach to the K^- d Scattering Length in Particle Basis
We report on the first calculation of the scattering length A_{K^-d} based on
a relativistic three-body approach where the two-body input amplitudes coupled
to the Kbar N channels have been obtained with the chiral SU(3) constraint, but
with isospin symmetry breaking effects taken into account. Results are compared
with a recent calculation applying a similar set of two-body amplitudes,based
on the fixed center approximation, considered as a good approximation for a
loosely bound target, and for which we find significant deviations from the
exact three-body results. Effects of the hyperon-nucleon interaction, and
deuteron -wave component are also evaluated.Comment: 5 pages, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
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