660 research outputs found
William James on the Courage to Believe
William Jamesâ celebrated lecture on âThe Will to Believeâ has kindled spirited controversy since the day it was delivered. In this lively reappraisal of that controversy, Father OâConnell contributes some fresh contentions: that Jamesâ argument should be viewed against his indebtedness to Pascal and Renouvier; that it works primarily to validate our âover-beliefsâ ; and most surprising perhaps, that James envisages our âpassional natureâ as intervening, not after, but before and throughout, our intellectual weighing of the evidence for belief
Numerical study of the influence of surface reaction probabilities on reactive species in an rf atmospheric pressure plasma containing humidity
International audienceThe quantification and control of reactive species (RS) in atmospheric pressure plasmas (APPs) is of great interest for their technological applications, in particular in biomedicine. Of key importance in simulating the densities of these species are fundamental data on their production and destruction. In particular, data concerning particle-surface reaction probabilities in APPs are scarce, with most of these probabilities measured in low-pressure systems. In this work, the role of surface reaction probabilities, gamma, of reactive neutral species (H, O and OH) on neutral particle densities in a He-H2O radio-frequency micro APP jet (COST-mu APPJ) are investigated using a global model. It is found that the choice of gamma, particularly for low-mass species having large diffusivities, such as H, can change computed species densities significantly. The importance of gamma even at elevated pressures offers potential for tailoring the RS composition of atmospheric pressure microplasmas by choosing different wall materials or plasma geometries
UIT Detection of Hot Stars in the Globular Cluster NGC362
We used the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope during the March 1995 Astro-2
mission to obtain a deep far-UV image of the globular cluster NGC 362, which
was formerly thought to have an almost entirely red horizontal branch (HB). 84
hot (T_eff > 8500 K) stars were detected within a radius of 8'.25 of the
cluster center. Of these, 43 have FUV magnitudes consistent with HB stars in
NGC 362, and at least 34 are cluster members. The number of cluster members is
made uncertain by background contamination from blue stars in the Small
Magellanic Cloud (SMC). There are six candidate supra-HB stars which have
probably evolved from the HB. We discuss the implications of these results for
the production of hot blue stars in stellar populations.Comment: 10 pages AASLaTeX including one postscript figure and one compressed
bitmap, .jpg format. To appear in Ap. J. Letters. Postscript version also
available at http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~bd4r
Ultraviolet Imaging Observations of the cD Galaxy in Abell 1795: Further Evidence for Massive Star Formation in a Cooling Flow
We present images from the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope of the Abell 1795
cluster of galaxies. We compare the cD galaxy morphology and photometry of
these data with those from existing archival and published data. The addition
of a far--UV color helps us to construct and test star formation model
scenarios for the sources of UV emission. Models of star formation with rates
in the range \sim5-20M_{\sun}yr indicate that the best fitting models
are those with continuous star formation or a recent ( Myr old) burst
superimposed on an old population. The presence of dust in the galaxy,
dramatically revealed by HST images complicates the interpretation of UV data.
However, we find that the broad--band UV/optical colors of this cD galaxy can
be reasonably matched by models using a Galactic form for the extinction law
with . We also briefly discuss other objects in the large UIT
field of view.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal. 14 AAS preprint style pages
plus 7 figure
Neurochemical enhancement of conscious error awareness
How the brain monitors ongoing behavior for performance errors is a central question of cognitive neuroscience. Diminished awareness of performance errors limits the extent to which humans engage in corrective behavior and has been linked to loss of insight in a number of psychiatric syndromes (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, drug addiction). These conditions share alterations in monoamine signaling that may influence the neural mechanisms underlying error processing, but our understanding of the neurochemical drivers of these processes is limited.Weconducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design of the influence of methylphenidate, atomoxetine, and citalopram on error awareness in 27 healthy participants. The error awareness task, a go/no-go response inhibition paradigm, was administered to assess the influence of monoaminergic agents on performance errors during fMRI data acquisition. A single dose of methylphenidate, but not atomoxetine or citalopram, significantly improved the ability of healthy volunteers to consciously detect performance errors. Furthermore, this behavioral effect was associated with a strengthening of activation differences in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and inferior parietal lobe during the methylphenidate condition for errors made with versus without awareness. Our results have implications for the understanding of the neurochemical underpinnings of performance monitoring and for the pharmacological treatment of a range of disparate clinical conditions that are marked by poor awareness of errors
Far-Ultraviolet Radiation from Elliptical Galaxies
Far-ultraviolet radiation is a ubiquitous, if unanticipated, phenomenon in
elliptical galaxies and early-type spiral bulges. It is the most variable
photometric feature associated with old stellar populations. Recent
observational and theoretical evidence shows that it is produced mainly by
low-mass, small-envelope, helium-burning stars in extreme horizontal branch and
subsequent phases of evolution. These are probably descendents of the dominant,
metal rich population of the galaxies. Their lifetime UV outputs are remarkably
sensitive to their physical properties and hence to the age and the helium and
metal abundances of their parents. UV spectra are therefore exceptionally
promising diagnostics of old stellar populations, although their calibration
requires a much improved understanding of giant branch mass loss, helium
enrichment, and atmospheric diffusion.Comment: 46 pages; includes LaTeX text file, 9 PS figures, 1 JPG figure, 2
style files. Full resolution figures and PS version available at
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~rwo/araa99/. Article to appear in Annual
Reviews of Astronomy & Astrophysics, 199
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