State of the body in disorders of diurnal physiological rhythms and long-term hypokinesia

In order to study the effects of hypokinesia and circadian rhythm restructuring on the morphological and functional status of the hypothalamo-hypophysic-adrenal system, young male Wistar rats were placed in small cages for varying periods. The animals were decapitated and preparations were made from sections of the brain and adrenals and numerous destructive changes were noted in the investigated regions of the brain, indicating that the condition of these areas is directly affected by disruption of established rhythms in physiological processes

Functional-morphological parallels of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal system response reaction to long-term hypokinesia

The effect of 2 and 4 week hypokinesia regimens on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal system (HPAS) was investigated in 110 inbred mice. Progressive exhaustion and pathological reorganization of the HPAS morphofunctional structures was revealed. On the basis of established facts of interlineary and interspecies differences in the HPAS response, it is suggested that the animal body response reaction to the long term effects of hypokinesia depends largely on its HPAS resistance and the values of this system's defensive adaptation potential

Currency and Financial Crises of the 1990s and 2000s

We survey three distinct types of financial crises which took place in the 1990s and the 2000s: 1) the credit implosion leading to severe banking crisis in Japan; 2) The foreign reserves’ meltdown triggered by foreign hot money flight from frothy economies with fixed exchange rate regimes of developing Asian economies, and 3) The 2008 worldwide debacle rooted in financial institutional opacity and reckless aggregate demand management, epicentered in the US, that spread almost instantaneously across the globe, mostly through international financial networks

Wire GEM detector

A wire GEM (WGEM) detector with a gas gap between meshes was constructed. The detector provides the amplification 5x10E5 for the gas mixture of Ar +20% CO2 at atmospheric pressure. As compared with well-known GEM detectors produced by perforation the plastic plate metalized on both sides the WGEM does not suffer from breakdowns between its electrodes and the effect of accumulation of charges on holes walls is absent. As a result the WGEM has high reliability and stability.Comment: Presented at the RD51 Collaboration Meeting, CERN, November 2009, submitted to the Prib. Tech. Expe

RETGEM with polyvinylchloride (PVC) electrodes

This paper presents a new design of the RETGEM (Resistive Electrode Thick GEM) based on electrodes made of a polyvinylchloride material (PVC). Our device can operate with gains of 10E5 as a conventional TGEM at low counting rates and as RPC in the case of high counting rates without of the transit to the violent sparks. The distinct feature of present RETGEM is the absent of the metal coating and lithographic technology for manufacturing of the protective dielectric rms. The electrodes from PVC permit to do the holes by a simple drilling machine. Detectors on a RETGEM basis could be useful in many fields of an application requiring a more cheap manufacturing and safe operation, for example, in a large neutrino experiments, in TPC, RICH systems.Comment: Presented at the RD51 Collaboration Meeting, CERN, November 200

MARs Wars: heterogeneity and clustering of DNA-binding domains in the nuclear matrix

Aim. CO326 is a chicken nuclear scaffold/matrix attachment region (MAR) associated with the nuclear matrix in several types of chicken cells. It contains a binding site for a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein, F326. We have studied its interaction with the nuclear matrix. Methods. We have used an in vitro MAR assay with isolated matrices from chicken HD3 cells. Results. We have found that an oligonucleotide binding site for the F326 inhibits binding of the CO326 to the nuclear matrix. At the same time, the binding of heterologous MARs is enhanced. Conclusions. Taken together, these data suggest that there exist several classes of MARs and MAR-binding domains and that the MAR-binding proteins may be clustered in the nuclear matrix

Converging Measures and an Emergent Model: A Meta-Analysis of Human-Automation Trust Questionnaires

A significant challenge to measuring human-automation trust is the amount of construct proliferation, models, and questionnaires with highly variable validation. However, all agree that trust is a crucial element of technological acceptance, continued usage, fluency, and teamwork. Herein, we synthesize a consensus model for trust in human-automation interaction by performing a meta-analysis of validated and reliable trust survey instruments. To accomplish this objective, this work identifies the most frequently cited and best-validated human-automation and human-robot trust questionnaires, as well as the most well-established factors, which form the dimensions and antecedents of such trust. To reduce both confusion and construct proliferation, we provide a detailed mapping of terminology between questionnaires. Furthermore, we perform a meta-analysis of the regression models that emerged from those experiments which used multi-factorial survey instruments. Based on this meta-analysis, we demonstrate a convergent experimentally validated model of human-automation trust. This convergent model establishes an integrated framework for future research. It identifies the current boundaries of trust measurement and where further investigation is necessary. We close by discussing choosing and designing an appropriate trust survey instrument. By comparing, mapping, and analyzing well-constructed trust survey instruments, a consensus structure of trust in human-automation interaction is identified. Doing so discloses a more complete basis for measuring trust emerges that is widely applicable. It integrates the academic idea of trust with the colloquial, common-sense one. Given the increasingly recognized importance of trust, especially in human-automation interaction, this work leaves us better positioned to understand and measure it.Comment: 44 pages, 6 figures. Submitted, in part, to ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (THRI

Signatures of motor susceptibility in the dynamics of a tracer particle in an active gel

We study a model for the motion of a tracer particle inside an active gel, exposing the properties of the van Hove distribution of the particle displacements. Active events of a typical force magnitude give rise to non-Gaussian distributions, having exponential tails or side-peaks. The side-peaks appear when the local bulk elasticity of the gel is large enough and few active sources are dominant. We explain the regimes of the different distributions, and study the structure of the peaks for active sources that are susceptible to the elastic stress that they cause inside the gel. We show how the van Hove distribution is altered by both the duty cycle of the active sources and their susceptibility, and suggest it as a sensitive probe to analyze microrheology data in active systems with restoring elastic forces.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures and supplemental information (5 pages, 4 figures