Off-diagonal Helicity Density Matrix Elements for Vector Mesons Produced at LEP

Final state quark-antiquark interactions may give origin to non zero values of the off-diagonal element rho_{1,-1} of the helicity density matrix of vector mesons produced in e+e- annihilations, as confirmed by recent OPAL data on phi and D^*'s. Predictions are given for rho_{1,-1} of several mesons produced at large z and small p_T, i.e. collinear with the parent jet; the values obtained for phi and D^* are in agreement with data.Comment: LaTeX, 12 pages, no figure

Audio-based interventions in sport

In common practice, sports-perceptual interventions are mainly based on vision. However, research demonstrates that sporting performance can also be improved through the use of sounds, showing the relevance of the auditory channel to convey sports-related information, which can positively affect athletes\u2019 motor outcomes. This review examines the potential of audio-based interventions in sport. The relevant concepts are defined, a brief overview of the techniques based on vision is given and laboratory studies demonstrating the effectiveness of sounds in improving the execution of simple rhythmic motor tasks are reviewed. Subsequently, neurophysiological evidence of the influence of sounds on the motor regions of the brain is provided and different kinds of audio-based interventions, emphasising their methodological details and the effects of their application to specific sporting performances are described. Finally, recommendations for further research in this field, aimed both at maximizing the potential of audio-based interventions and their implementation at applied sporting contexts, are suggested

Effects of Physical Rehabilitation Integrated with Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation on Spatio-Temporal and Kinematic Parameters of Gait in Parkinson's Disease

Movement rehabilitation by means of physical therapy represents an essential tool in the management of gait disturbances induced by Parkinson's disease (PD). In this context, the use of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) has been proven useful in improving several spatio-temporal parameters, but concerning its effect on gait patterns, scarce information is available from a kinematic viewpoint. In this study, we used three-dimensional gait analysis based on optoelectronic stereophotogrammetry to investigate the effects of 5\u2009weeks of supervised rehabilitation, which included gait training integrated with RAS on 26 individuals affected by PD (age 70.4\u2009\ub1\u200911.1, Hoehn and Yahr 1-3). Gait kinematics was assessed before and at the end of the rehabilitation period and after a 3-month follow-up, using concise measures (Gait Profile Score and Gait Variable Score, GPS and GVS, respectively), which are able to describe the deviation from a physiologic gait pattern. The results confirm the effectiveness of gait training assisted by RAS in increasing speed and stride length, in regularizing cadence and correctly reweighting swing/stance phase duration. Moreover, an overall improvement of gait quality was observed, as demonstrated by the significant reduction of the GPS value, which was created mainly through significant decreases in the GVS score associated with the hip flexion-extension movement. Future research should focus on investigating kinematic details to better understand the mechanisms underlying gait disturbances in people with PD and the effects of RAS, with the aim of finding new or improving current rehabilitative treatments

A complete season with attendance restrictions confirms the relevant contribution of spectators to home advantage and referee bias in association football

Due to the unfortunate pandemic situation, the phenomena of home advantage and referee bias in sports have recently received a particular research attention, especially in association football. In this regard, several studies were conducted on the last portion of the 2019-20 season: the majority of them suggests a reduction-but not the elimination-of the two phenomena, with some exceptions in which no reduction was found or, at the other extreme, the phenomena were not observed at all

Contrasting a Misinterpretation of the Reverse Contrast

open access articleThe reverse contrast is a perceptual phenomenon in which the effect of the classical simultaneous lightness contrast is reversed. In classic simultaneous lightness contrast configurations, a gray surrounded by black is perceived lighter than an identical gray surrounded by white, but in the reverse contrast configurations, the perceptual outcome is the opposite: a gray surrounded by black appears darker than the same gray surrounded by white. The explanation provided for the reverse contrast (by different authors) is the belongingness of the gray targets to a more complex configuration. Different configurations show the occurrence of these phenomena; however, the factors determining this effect are not always the same. In particular, some configurations are based on both belongingness and assimilation, while one configuration is based only on belongingness. The evidence that different factors determine the reverse contrast is crucial for future research dealing with achromatic color perception and, in particular, with lightness induction phenomena

Walking and encoding heading bias

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI linkPrevious studies demonstrated that physical movement enhanced spatial updating in described environments. However, those movements were executed only after the encoding of the environment, minimally affecting the development of the spatial representation. Thus, we investigated whether and how participants could benefit from the execution of physical movement during the encoding of described environments, in terms of enhanced spatial updating. Using the judgement of relative directions task, we compared the effects of walking both during and after the description of the environment, and walking only after the description on spatial updating. Spatial updating was evaluated in terms of accuracy and response times in different headings. We found that the distribution of response times across Headings seemed not to be related to the physical movement executed, whereas the distribution of accuracy scores seemed to significantly change with the action executed. Indeed, when no movement occurred during the encoding of the environment, a preference for the learning heading was found, which did not emerge when walking during encoding occurred. Therefore, the results seem to suggest that physical movement during encoding supports the development of a heading-independent representation of described environments, reducing the anchoring for a preferred heading in favor of a global representation