The Influence of Social Priming on Speech Perception

Speech perception relies on auditory, visual, and motor cues and has been historically difficult to model, partially due to this multimodality. One of the current models is the Fuzzy Logic Model of Perception (FLMP), which suggests that if one of these types of speech mode is altered, the perception of that speech signal should be altered in a quantifiable and predictable way. The current study uses social priming to activate the schema of blindness in order to reduce reliance of visual cues of syllables with a visually identical pair. According to the FLMP, by lowering reliance on visual cues, visual confusion should also be reduced, allowing the visually confusable syllables to be identified more quickly. Although no main effect of priming was discovered, some individual syllables showed the expected facilitation while others showed inhibition. These results suggest that there is an effect of social priming on speech perception, despite the opposing reactions between syllables. Further research should use a similar kind of social priming to determine which syllables have more acoustically salient features and which have more visually salient features

Algorithms for output feedback, multiple-model, and decentralized control problems

The optimal stochastic output feedback, multiple-model, and decentralized control problems with dynamic compensation are formulated and discussed. Algorithms for each problem are presented, and their relationship to a basic output feedback algorithm is discussed. An aircraft control design problem is posed as a combined decentralized, multiple-model, output feedback problem. A control design is obtained using the combined algorithm. An analysis of the design is presented

Investigation, development and application of optimal output feedback theory. Volume 2: Development of an optimal, limited state feedback outer-loop digital flight control system for 3-D terminal area operation

This report contains the development of a digital outer-loop three dimensional radio navigation (3-D RNAV) flight control system for a small commercial jet transport. The outer-loop control system is designed using optimal stochastic limited state feedback techniques. Options investigated using the optimal limited state feedback approach include integrated versus hierarchical control loop designs, 20 samples per second versus 5 samples per second outer-loop operation and alternative Type 1 integration command errors. Command generator tracking techniques used in the digital control design enable the jet transport to automatically track arbitrary curved flight paths generated by waypoints. The performance of the design is demonstrated using detailed nonlinear aircraft simulations in the terminal area, frequency domain multi-input sigma plots, frequency domain single-input Bode plots and closed-loop poles. The response of the system to a severe wind shear during a landing approach is also presented

Investigation and appreciation of optimal output feedback. Volume 1: A convergent algorithm for the stochastic infinite-time discrete optimal output feedback problem

The stochastic, infinite time, discrete output feedback problem for time invariant linear systems is examined. Two sets of sufficient conditions for the existence of a stable, globally optimal solution are presented. An expression for the total change in the cost function due to a change in the feedback gain is obtained. This expression is used to show that a sequence of gains can be obtained by an algorithm, so that the corresponding cost sequence is monotonically decreasing and the corresponding sequence of the cost gradient converges to zero. The algorithm is guaranteed to obtain a critical point of the cost function. The computational steps necessary to implement the algorithm on a computer are presented. The results are applied to a digital outer loop flight control problem. The numerical results for this 13th order problem indicate a rate of convergence considerably faster than two other algorithms used for comparison

Anthropogenically Enhanced Fluxes Of Water And Carbon From The Mississippi River

The water and dissolved inorganic carbon exported by rivers are important net fluxes that connect terrestrial and oceanic water and carbon reservoirs(1). For most rivers, the majority of dissolved inorganic carbon is in the form of bicarbonate. The riverine bicarbonate flux originates mainly from the dissolution of rock minerals by soil water carbon dioxide, a process called chemical weathering, which controls the buffering capacity and mineral content of receiving streams and rivers(2). Here we introduce an unprecedented high- temporal- resolution, 100- year data set from the Mississippi River and couple it with sub- watershed and precipitation data to reveal that the large increase in bicarbonate flux that has occurred over the past 50 years ( ref. 3) is clearly anthropogenically driven. We show that the increase in bicarbonate and water fluxes is caused mainly by an increase in discharge from agricultural watersheds that has not been balanced by a rise in precipitation, which is also relevant to nutrient and pesticide fluxes to the Gulf of Mexico. These findings demonstrate that alterations in chemical weathering are relevant to improving contemporary biogeochemical budgets. Furthermore, land use change and management were arguably more important than changes in climate and plant CO2 fertilization to increases in riverine water and carbon export from this large region over the past 50 years

A rim-and-spoke hypothesis to explain the biomechanical roles for cytoplasmic intermediate filament networks

Textbook images of keratin intermediate filament (IF) networks in epithelial cells and the functional compromization of the epidermis by keratin mutations promulgate a mechanical role for this important cytoskeletal component. In stratified epithelia, keratin filaments form prominent radial spokes that are focused onto cell-cell contact sites, i.e. the desmosomes. In this Hypothesis, we draw attention to a subset of keratin filaments that are apposed to the plasma membrane. They form a rim of filaments interconnecting the desmosomes in a circumferential network. We hypothesize that they are part of a rim-and-spoke arrangement of IFs in epithelia. From our review of the literature, we extend this functional role for the subplasmalemmal rim of IFs to any cell, in which plasma membrane support is required, provided these filaments connect directly or indirectly to the plasma membrane. Furthermore, cytoplasmic IF networks physically link the outer nuclear and plasma membranes, but their participation in mechanotransduction processes remain largely unconsidered. Therefore, we also discuss the potential biomechanical and mechanosensory role(s) of the cytoplasmic IF network in terms of such a rim (i.e. subplasmalemmal)-and-spoke arrangement for cytoplasmic IF networks

Unconventional one-magnon scattering resistivity in half metals

Low-temperature resistivity of half-metals is investigated. To date it has been discussed that the one-magnon scattering process in half-metals is irrelevant for low-temperature resistivity, due to the fully spin-polarized electronic structure at the ground state. If one takes into account the non-rigid-band behavior of the minority band due to spin fluctuations at finite temperatures, however, the unconventional one-magnon scattering process is shown to be most relevant and gives T^3 dependence in resistivity. This behavior may be used as a crucial test in the search for half-metallic materials which are potentially important for applications. Comparison with resistivity data of La_1-x Sr_x MnO_3 as candidates for half-metals shows good agreement.Comment: 4 pages, including 5 eps figures. To be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. vol. 69 No. 7 (2000

Solid deuterium surface degradation at ultracold neutron sources

Solid deuterium (sD_2) is used as an efficient converter to produce ultracold neutrons (UCN). It is known that the sD_2 must be sufficiently cold, of high purity and mostly in its ortho-state in order to guarantee long lifetimes of UCN in the solid from which they are extracted into vacuum. Also the UCN transparency of the bulk sD_2 material must be high because crystal inhomogeneities limit the mean free path for elastic scattering and reduce the extraction efficiency. Observations at the UCN sources at Paul Scherrer Institute and at Los Alamos National Laboratory consistently show a decrease of the UCN yield with time of operation after initial preparation or later treatment (`conditioning') of the sD_2. We show that, in addition to the quality of the bulk sD_2, the quality of its surface is essential. Our observations and simulations support the view that the surface is deteriorating due to a build-up of D_2 frost-layers under pulsed operation which leads to strong albedo reflections of UCN and subsequent loss. We report results of UCN yield measurements, temperature and pressure behavior of deuterium during source operation and conditioning, and UCN transport simulations. This, together with optical observations of sD_2 frost formation on initially transparent sD_2 in offline studies with pulsed heat input at the North Carolina State University UCN source results in a consistent description of the UCN yield decrease.Comment: 15 pages, 22 figures, accepted by EPJ-

Energy conservation in citrus processing. Final project report

Alternative energy conserving systems for use in citrus processing plants were synthesized and evaluated in terms of energy savings and economic return. The energy intensive operations that are carried out in citrus processing plants include conveying and extraction, concentration, peel drying, refrigeration, and pasteurization. The alternative energy conserving systems are synthesized from components and subsystems that are arranged to make use of energy cascading and thermodynamic regeneration to reduce the overall energy usage. System requirements such as air pollution rules and plant processing load cycles, a characterization of major operations, description of alternative system concepts, and the evaluation of alternative systems in terms of economic parameters and energy usage are identified