Losing the error related negativity (ERN): an indicator for willed action

When people make errors in a discrimination task, a negative-going waveform can be observed in scalp-recorded EEG that has been coined the error-related negativity (ERN). We hypothesized that the ERN only occurs with slips, that is unwilled action errors, but not if an error is committed willingly and intentionally. We investigated the occurrence of the ERN in a choice reaction time task that has been shown to produce an ERN and in an error simulation task where subjects had to fake errors while the EEG was recorded. We observed a loss of the ERN when errors were committed in willed actions but not in unwilled actions thus supporting the idea that the production of the ERN is tied to slips in unwilled actions but not mistakes in willed actions

Neuropragmatics in the 21st century

One of the great challenges of the new millennium is the continuing search of how the mind works. Although a relatively young field, the study of neuropragmatics can greatly contribute to this search by its interdisciplinary nature, the possibility to be applied to different research meth-ods and by the opportunity to study its nature by taking vastly different perspectives

The study of the regenesis of mind in the 21st century

The enigma of consciousness and the brain-mind relationship will - most likely - be unveiled in the 21st century through the new technologies developed at the end of the 20th century and new technologies yet to come. The new technologies will be used to tackle the problem from evolu-tionary, developmental, normal and pathological brain functioning. A major contribution, how-ever, will surface when investigating a particular perspective of pathological brain functioning - a perspective that has not received any attention in the past: the investigation of the re-emergence of mind out of prolonged coma and coma like states

Alcohols increase calmodulin affinity for Ca2+ and decrease target affinity for calmodulin

AbstractIt has been proposed that alcohols and anesthetics selectively inhibit proteins containing easily disrupted motifs, e.g., α-helices. In this study, the calcineurin/calmodulin/Ca2+ enzyme system was used to examine the effects of alcohols on calmodulin, a protein with a predominantly α-helical structure. Calcineurin phosphatase activity and Ca2+ binding were monitored as indicators of calmodulin function. Alcohols inhibited enzyme activity in a concentration-dependent manner, with two-, four- and five-carbon n-alcohols exhibiting similar leftward shifts in the inhibition curves for calmodulin-dependent and -independent activities; the former was slightly more sensitive than the latter. Ca2+ binding was measured by flow dialysis as a direct measure of calmodulin function, whereas, with the addition of a binding domain peptide, measured calmodulin–target interactions. Ethanol increased the affinity of calmodulin for Ca2+ in the presence and absence of the peptide, indicating that ethanol stabilizes the Ca2+ bound form of calmodulin. An increase in Ca2+ affinity was detected in a calmodulin binding assay, but the affinity of calmodulin for calcineurin decreased at saturating Ca2+. These data demonstrate that although specific regions within proteins may be more sensitive to alcohols and anesthetics, the presence of α-helices is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of alcohol or anesthetic potency

Error detection and the Error-related ERP in patients with lesions involving the anterior cingulate and adjacent regions

Evidence indicates that the anterior cingulate region generates what appears to be a specific electrophysiological marker for the monitoring of error responses. When an auditory or visual stimulus is presented in such a way that the subject is likely to make an error, averaged encephalography (EEG) trials to erroneous responses consistently show a negative-going waveform which has been coined the error-related negativity (ERN). We examined ERNs in patients with a ruptured aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery (AACA), who are particularly prone to showing damage in the anterior cingulate and adjacent regions, and frequently display a variety of behavioral and cognitive disturbances such as disorientation, confabulation, apathy, unawareness of deficit, and problems of attention, control and monitoring. We found that these patients generally did not produce an ERN in comparison to healthy control participants suggesting that the anterior cingulate is essential for the ERN response. However, the patients' error rates were comparable to that of the controls and they showed a dissociation between overt error awareness and ERN production, suggesting that the ERN does not simply represent an error detection signal

Thermal receptivity of free convective flow from a heated vertical surface: linear waves

Numerical techniques are used to study the receptivity to small-amplitude thermal disturbances of the boundary layer flow of air which is induced by a heated vertical flat plate. The fully elliptic nonlinear, time-dependent Navier–Stokes and energy equations are first solved to determine the steady state boundary-layer flow, while a linearised version of the same code is used to determine the stability characteristics. In particular we investigate (i) the ultimate fate of a localised thermal disturbance placed in the region near the leading edge and (ii) the effect of small-scale surface temperature oscillations as means of understanding the stability characteristics of the boundary layer. We show that there is a favoured frequency of excitation for the time-periodic disturbance which maximises the local response in terms of the local rate of heat transfer. However the magnitude of the favoured frequency depends on precisely how far from the leading edge the local response is measured. We also find that the instability is advective in nature and that the response of the boundary layer consists of a starting transient which eventually leaves the computational domain, leaving behind the large-time time-periodic asymptotic state. Our detailed numerical results are compared with those obtained using parallel flow theory

Proteomics analysis of rough endoplasmic reticulum in pancreatic beta cells

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111127/1/pmic8033.pd

Managing spatial sustainability trade-offs: The case of wind power

The deployment of onshore wind power involves spatial sustainability trade-offs, e.g., between the minimization of energy system costs, the mitigation of impacts on humans and biodiversity, and equity concerns. We analyze challenges arising for decision-making if wind power generation capacity has to be allocated spatially in the presence of such trade-offs. The analysis is based on a game developed for and played by stakeholders in Germany. The results of the game illustrate that there is no unanimously agreed ranking of sustainability criteria among the participating stakeholders. They disagreed not only on the weights of different criteria but also their definition and measurement. Group discussions further revealed that equity concerns mattered for spatial allocation. Yet, stakeholders used quite different concepts of equity. The results support the importance of transparent, multi-level and participatory approaches to take decisions on the spatial allocation of wind power generation capacity

Charged defect quantification in Pt/Al2O3/In0. 53Ga0. 47As/InP MOS capacitors

This work focuses on the separation and quantification of fixed bulk oxide charge, fixed charge at the dielectric–semiconductor interface and interface state charge components in the Pt/Al2O3/In0.53Ga0.47As metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) system. The availability of atomic layer deposited Al2O3 dielectrics over n- and p-type In0.53Ga0.47As with a range of well-controlled thickness values opens up an experimental route for the determination of the interface state density (Dit) independently of the total fixed oxide charge using capacitance–voltage measurements taken at 1 MHz and −50°C. Low temperature forming gas annealing (350°C) significantly reduces the amount of fixed charge. The interface fixed charge is reduced from ∼ −8.5 × 1012 cm−2 preanneal to ∼ −7.4 × 1011 cm−2 postanneal and the bulk oxide charge is reduced from ∼1.4 × 1019 cm−3 preanneal to ∼5 × 1018 cm−3 postanneal. The forming gas anneal also has a significant effect on the interface state charge, reducing its density from 1.3 × 1013cm−2 preanneal to 4 × 1012 cm−2 postanneal

Effects of Impurity Content on the Sintering Characteristics of Plasma-Sprayed Zirconia

Yttria-stabilized zirconia powders, containing different levels of SiO2 and Al2O3, have been plasma sprayed onto metallic substrates. The coatings were detached from their substrates and a dilatometer was used to monitor the dimensional changes they exhibited during prolonged heat treatments. It was found that specimens containing higher levels of silica and alumina exhibited higher rates of linear contraction, in both in-plane and through-thickness directions. The in-plane stiffness and the through-thickness thermal conductivity were also measured after different heat treatments and these were found to increase at a greater rate for specimens with higher impurity (silica and alumina) levels. Changes in the pore architecture during heat treatments were studied using Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP). Fine scale porosity (<_50 nm) was found to be sharply reduced even by relatively short heat treatments. This is correlated with improvements in inter-splat bonding and partial healing of intra-splat microcracks, which are responsible for the observed changes in stiffness and conductivity, as well as the dimensional changes