Technique for abrasive cutting of thick-film conductors for hybrid circuits

Abrasive jet technique, producing prototype conductor networks for thick-film hybrid microcircuits, does not require screening and fixing procedures. Pantograph engraver is used to perform abrasive cutting of the conductor network

Aggressività psicopatica: una questione di volontà o di determinismo?

Psychopathic aggressive behavior is extremely antisocial and its destructiveness can be appalling. Throughout the past and still at present, psychopathy has been the topic of descriptive, psychodynamic, genetic and biological investigations. This article addresses the question of whether psychopaths are free in their decisional capacity or whether their criminal acts are subjected to determinism. A brief review of the history of psychopathy, psychopathic aggressivity, and pertinent psychoanalytic views are presented, along with philosophical theories of free will and determinism. Recent findings of brain neuroimaging of psychopaths are discussed. Special regard is given to Libet’s theory of free will. The criminal responsibility of psychopaths is considered in view of free will and determinism.I comportamenti psicopatici aggressivi possiedono un forte impatto sociale e la loro distruttività può avere conseguenze sconvolgenti. In tutto il corso della storia ed ancora oggi, la psicopatia è sempre stata oggetto di indagini di natura descrittiva, psicodinamica, genetica e biologica. Questo articolo affronta la questione della libertà decisionale degli psicopatici ovvero se questi non possono ritenersi pienamente responsabili dei comportamenti delittuosi tenuti. L’Autore, dopo aver presentato una breve review del concetto di psicopatia, dell'aggressività ad essa correlata e delle relative teorie psicoanalitiche, procede ad una disamina delle teorie filosofiche sulla libera volontà e sul determinismo. Analizza, poi, i recenti risultati delle neuroimaging cerebrali negli psicopatici. Riserva, inoltre, una considerazione speciale alla teoria di Libet sulla libera volontà. Esamina, infine, la responsabilità personale dello psicopatico rispetto ad una condotta delittuosa, alla luce dei concetti di libera volontà e determinismo

New Tests to Measure Individual Differences in Matching and Labelling Facial Expressions of Emotion, and Their Association with Ability to Recognise Vocal Emotions and Facial Identity

Although good tests are available for diagnosing clinical impairments in face expression processing, there is a lack of strong tests for assessing "individual differences"--that is, differences in ability between individuals within the typical, nonclinical, range. Here, we develop two new tests, one for expression perception (an odd-man-out matching task in which participants select which one of three faces displays a different expression) and one additionally requiring explicit identification of the emotion (a labelling task in which participants select one of six verbal labels). We demonstrate validity (careful check of individual items, large inversion effects, independence from nonverbal IQ, convergent validity with a previous labelling task), reliability (Cronbach's alphas of.77 and.76 respectively), and wide individual differences across the typical population. We then demonstrate the usefulness of the tests by addressing theoretical questions regarding the structure of face processing, specifically the extent to which the following processes are common or distinct: (a) perceptual matching and explicit labelling of expression (modest correlation between matching and labelling supported partial independence); (b) judgement of expressions from faces and voices (results argued labelling tasks tap into a multi-modal system, while matching tasks tap distinct perceptual processes); and (c) expression and identity processing (results argued for a common first step of perceptual processing for expression and identity).This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (http://www.arc.gov.au/) grant DP110100850 to RP and EM and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Cognition and its Disorders (CE110001021) http://www.ccd.edu.au. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Opportunities for optics in integrated circuits applications

Optics potentially addresses two key problems in electronic chips and systems: interconnects and timing. Short optical pulses (e.g., picoseconds or shorter) offer particularly precise timing. Results are shown for optical and electrical four-phase clocking, with <1 ps rms jitter for the optical case

The GALATEA Test-Facility for High Purity Germanium Detectors

GALATEA is a test facility designed to investigate bulk and surface effects in high purity germanium detectors. A vacuum tank houses an infrared screened volume with a cooled detector inside. A system of three stages allows an almost complete scan of the detector. The main feature of GALATEA is that there is no material between source and detector. This allows the usage of alpha and beta sources as well as of a laser beam to study surface effects. A 19-fold segmented true-coaxial germanium detector was used for commissioning

Spontaneous Embedding of DNA Mismatches Within the RNA:DNA Hybrid of CRISPR-Cas9.

CRISPR-Cas9 is the forefront technology for editing the genome. In this system, the Cas9 protein is programmed with guide RNAs to process DNA sequences that match the guide RNA forming an RNA:DNA hybrid structure. However, the binding of DNA sequences that do not fully match the guide RNA can limit the applicability of CRISPR-Cas9 for genome editing, resulting in the so-called off-target effects. Here, molecular dynamics is used to probe the effect of DNA base pair mismatches within the RNA:DNA hybrid in CRISPR-Cas9. Molecular simulations revealed that the presence of mismatched pairs in the DNA at distal sites with respect to the Protospacer Adjacent Motif (PAM) recognition sequence induces an extended opening of the RNA:DNA hybrid, leading to novel interactions established by the unwound nucleic acids and the protein counterpart. On the contrary, mismatched pairs upstream of the RNA:DNA hybrid are rapidly incorporated within the heteroduplex, with minor effect on the protein-nucleic acid interactions. As a result, mismatched pairs at PAM distal ends interfere with the activation of the catalytic HNH domain, while mismatches fully embedded in the RNA:DNA do not affect the HNH dynamics and enable its activation to cleave the DNA. These findings provide a mechanistic understanding to the intriguing experimental evidence that PAM distal mismatches hamper a proper function of HNH, explaining also why mismatches within the heteroduplex are much more tolerated. This constitutes a step forward in understanding off-target effects in CRISPR-Cas9, which encourages novel structure-based engineering efforts aimed at preventing the onset of off-target effects

Apron and cutoff wall scour protection for piano key weirs

Piano key (PK) weirs are used in a variety of flow control structure applications, including spillway crests and open channel diversion structures. However, to the best of authors’ knowledge, structure-specific design guidance for scour mitigation is still needed. To fill this gap of knowledge, a systematic experimental campaign was conducted by testing different configurations of horizontal aprons with a cutoff wall. Protection structures were located at the toe of the PK weir. Namely, experiments were performed at large-scale to assess the effect of three apron lengths on downstream scour hole geometry under different hydraulic conditions. It was observed that a horizontal apron deflects the plunging jets originating from the PK weir, thus significantly reducing scour. Experimental evidence allowed corroboration that significant scour depth reduction occurs for an apron length 1.5 times the weir height, with longer aprons found to provide marginal benefits. Finally, also provided herein are tools to estimate the main scour characteristics and help practitioners in optimizing apron design

Surface wave non-reciprocity via time-modulated metamaterials

We investigate how Rayleigh waves interact with time-modulated resonators located on the free surface of a semi-infinite elastic medium. We begin by studying the dynamics of a single resonator with time-modulated stiffness, we evaluate the accuracy of an analytical approximation of the resonator response and identify the parameter ranges in which its behavior remains stable. Then, we develop an analytical model to describe the interaction between surface waves and an array of resonators with spatio-temporally modulated stiffness. By combining our analytical models with full-scale numerical simulations, we demonstrate that spatio-temporal stiffness modulation of this elastic metasurface leads to the emergence of non-reciprocal features in the Rayleigh wave spectrum. Specifically, we show how the frequency content of a propagating signal can be filtered and converted when traveling through the modulated medium, and illustrate how surface-to-bulk wave conversion plays a role in these phenomena. Throughout this article, we indicate bounds of modulation parameters for which our theory is reliable, thus providing guidelines for future experimental studies on the topic

Spanish-English Bilingual Toddlers’ Vocabulary Skills: The role of Caregiver Language Input and Warmth

There is a well-documented link between bilingual language development and the relative amounts of exposure to each language. Less is known about the role of quality indicators of caregiver-child interactions in bilingual homes, including caregiver input diversity, warmth and sensitivity. This longitudinal study examines the relation between caregiver input (lexical diversity, amount), warmth and sensitivity and bilingual toddlers’ subsequent vocabulary outcomes. We video-recorded caregiver-child interactions in Spanish-English Latino homes when toddlers (n = 47) were 18 months of age (M = 18.32 months; SD = 1.02 months). At the 24-month follow-up, we measured children\u27s vocabulary as total vocabulary (English, Spanish combined) as well as within language (Spanish, English). Results revealed that Spanish lexical diversity exposure at 18 months from caregivers was positively associated with children\u27s Spanish and total vocabulary scores at 24 months, while English lexical diversity was positively associated with children\u27s English scores; lexical diversity and amount were highly correlated. Additionally, caregivers’ warmth was positively associated with children\u27s Spanish, English and total vocabulary scores. Together, these factors accounted for substantial variance (30–40%) in vocabulary outcomes. Notably, caregiver input accounted for more variance in single language outcomes than did caregiver warmth, whereas caregiver warmth uniquely accounted for more variance in total vocabulary scores. Our findings extend prior research findings by suggesting that children\u27s dual language development may depend on their exposure to a diverse set of words, not only amount of language exposure, as well as warm interactions with caregivers. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/q1V_7fz5wogHighlightsVideo-recorded observations of caregiver-child interactions revealed warmth and high sensitivity from Latino caregivers.Linguistically-detailed analyses of caregiver input revealed wide variation in the diversity of Spanish and English directed at 18-month-old bilingual toddlers.Bilingual toddlers’ vocabulary (single language, total) was positively associated with caregivers’ diverse input and warmth, thus extending prior findings on bilinguals’ amount of language exposure.Findings suggest that caregivers’ lexical diversity explains more variance in bilingual toddlers’ single language outcomes, whereas warmth explains more variance in total vocabulary scores