1,156 research outputs found
Context-Dependent Arm Pointing Adaptation
We sought to determine the effectiveness of head posture as a contextual cue to facilitate adaptive transitions in manual control during visuomotor distortions. Subjects performed arm pointing movements by drawing on a digitizing tablet, with targets and movement trajectories displayed in real time on a computer monitor. Adaptation was induced by presenting the trajectories in an altered gain format on the monitor. The subjects were shown visual displays of their movements that corresponded to either 0.5 or 1.5 scaling of the movements made. Subjects were assigned to three groups: the head orientation group tilted the head towards the right shoulder when drawing under a 0.5 gain of display and towards the left shoulder when drawing under a 1.5 gain of display, the target orientation group had the home & target positions rotated counterclockwise when drawing under the 0.5 gain and clockwise for the 1.5 gain, the arm posture group changed the elbow angle of the arm they were not drawing with from full flexion to full extension with 0.5 and 1.5 gain display changes. To determine if contextual cues were associated with display alternations, the gain changes were returned to the standard (1.0) display. Aftereffects were assessed to determine the efficacy of the head orientation contextual cue. . compared to the two control cues. The head orientation cue was effectively associated with the multiple gains. The target orientation cue also demonstrated some effectiveness while the.arm posture cue did not. The results demonstrate that contextual cues can be used to switch between multiple adaptive states. These data provide support for the idea that static head orientation information is a crucial component to the arm adaptation process. These data further define the functional linkage between head posture and arm pointing movements
Patterns of Transfer of Adaptation Among Body Segments
Two experiments were conducted in order to determine the patterns of transfer of visuomotor adaptation between arm and head pointing. An altered gain of display of pointing movements was used to induce a conflict between visual and somatosensory representations. Two subject groups participated in Experiment One: group 1 adapted shoulder pointing movements, and group 2 adapted wrist pointing movements to a 0.5 gain of display. Following the adaptation regimen, subjects performed a transfer test in which the shoulder group performed wrist movements and the wrist group performed shoulder movements. The results demonstrated that both groups displayed typical adaptation curves, initially undershooting the target followed by a return to baseline performance. Transfer tests revealed that both groups had high transfer of the acquired adaptation to the other joint. Experiment Two followed a similar design except that group 1 adapted head pointing movements and group 2 adapted arm pointing movements. The arm adaptation had high transfer to head pointing while the head adaptation had very little transfer to arm pointing. These results imply that, while the arm segments may share a common target representation for goal-directed actions, individual but functionally dependent target representations may exist for the control of head and arm movements
Performance Benefits Associated with Context-Dependent Arm Pointing Adaptation
Our previous work has demonstrated that head orientation can be used as a contextual cue to switch between mUltiple adaptive states. Subjects were assigned to one of three groups: the head orientation group tilted the head towards the right shoulder when drawing under a 0.5 gain of display and towards the left shoulder when drawing under a 1.5 gain of display; the target orientation group had the home & target positions rotated counterclockwise when drawing under the 0.5 gain and clockwise for the l.5 gain; the arm posture group changed the elbow angle of the arm they were not drawing with from full flexion to full extension with 0.5 and l.5 gain display changes. The head orientation cue was effectively associated with the multiple gains, in comparison to the control conditions. The purpose of the current investigation was to determine whether this context-dependent adaptation results in any savings in terms of performance measures such as movement duration and movement smoothness when subjects switch between multiple adaptive states. Subjects in the head adaptation group demonstrated reduced movement duration and increased movement smoothness (measured via normalized j erk scores) in comparison to the two control groups when switching between the 0.5 and 1.5 gain. of display. This work has demonstrated not only that subjects can acquire context-dependent adaptation, but also that it results in a significant savings of performance upon transfer between adaptive state
The local electronic structure of alpha-Li3N
New theoretical and experimental investigation of the occupied and unoccupied
local electronic density of states (DOS) are reported for alpha-Li3N. Band
structure and density functional theory calculations confirm the absence of
covalent bonding character. However, real-space full-multiple-scattering
(RSFMS) calculations of the occupied local DOS finds less extreme nominal
valences than have previously been proposed. Nonresonant inelastic x-ray
scattering (NRIXS), RSFMS calculations, and calculations based on the
Bethe-Salpeter equation are used to characterize the unoccupied electronic
final states local to both the Li and N sites. There is good agreement between
experiment and theory. Throughout the Li 1s near-edge region, both experiment
and theory find strong similarities in the s- and p-type components of the
unoccupied local final density of states projected onto an orbital angular
momentum basis (l-DOS). An unexpected, significant correspondence exists
between the near-edge spectra for the Li 1s and N 1s initial states. We argue
that both spectra are sampling essentially the same final density of states due
to the combination of long core-hole lifetimes, long photoelectron lifetimes,
and the fact that orbital angular momentum is the same for all relevant initial
states. Such considerations may be generically applicable for low atomic number
compounds.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Electron Quasiparticles Drive the Superconductor-to-Insulator Transition in Homogeneously Disordered Thin Films
Transport data on Bi, MoGe, and PbBi/Ge homogeneously-disordered thin films
demonstrate that the critical resistivity, , at the nominal
insulator-superconductor transition is linearly proportional to the normal
sheet resistance, . In addition, the critical magnetic field scales
linearly with the superconducting energy gap and is well-approximated by
. Because is determined at high temperatures and is the
pair-breaking field, the two immediate consequences are: 1)
electron-quasiparticles populate the insulating side of the transition and 2)
standard phase-only models are incapable of describing the destruction of the
superconducting state. As gapless electronic excitations populate the
insulating state, the universality class is no longer the 3D XY model. The lack
of a unique critical resistance in homogeneously disordered films can be
understood in this context. In light of the recent experiments which observe an
intervening metallic state separating the insulator from the superconductor in
homogeneously disordered MoGe thin films, we argue that the two transitions
that accompany the destruction of superconductivity are 1) superconductor to
Bose metal in which phase coherence is lost and 2) Bose metal to localized
electron insulator via pair-breaking.Comment: This article is included in the Festschrift for Prof. Michael Pollak
on occasion of his 75th birthda
Theoretical Description of Resistive Behavior near a Quantum Vortex-Glass Transition
Resistive behaviors at nonzero temperatures (T > 0) reflecting a quantum
vortex-glass (VG) transition (the so-called field-tuned
superconductor-insulator transition at T=0) are studied based on a quantum
Ginzburg-Landau (GL) action for a s-wave pairing case containing microscopic
details. The ordinary dissipative dynamics of the pair-field is assumed on the
basis of a consistency between the fluctuation conductance terms excluded from
GL approach and an observed negative magnetoresistance. It is shown that the VG
contribution, G_{vg}(B=B_{vg}, T \to 0),to 2D fluctuation conductance at the VG
transition field B_{vg} depends on the strength of a repulsive-interaction
between electrons and takes a universal value only in the ordinary dirty limit
neglecting the electron-repulsion. Available resistivity data near B_{vg} are
discussed based on our results, and extensions to the cases of a d-wave pairing
and of 3D systems are briefly commented on.Comment: Explanation of data in strongly disordered case, as well as Fig.2 and
3, was renewed, and comments on recent publications were added. To appear in
J.Phys.Soc. Jp
Developing Personalized Sensorimotor Adaptability Countermeasures for Spaceflight
Astronauts experience sensorimotor disturbances during their initial exposure to microgravity and during the re-adaptation phase following a return to an Earth-gravitational environment. Interestingly, astronauts who return from spaceflight show substantial differences in their abilities to readapt to a gravitational environment. The ability to predict the manner and degree to which individual astronauts would be affected would improve the effectiveness of countermeasure training programs designed to enhance sensorimotor adaptability. In this paper we will be presenting results from our ground-based study that show how behavioral, brain imaging and genomic data may be used to predict individual differences in sensorimotor adaptability to novel sensorimotor environments. This approach will allow us to better design and implement sensorimotor adaptability training countermeasures against decrements in post-mission adaptive capability that are customized for each crewmember's sensory biases, adaptive capacity, brain structure, functional capacities, and genetic predispositions. The ability to customize adaptability training will allow more efficient use of crew time during training and will optimize training prescriptions for astronauts to ensure expected outcomes
The shape of equality: discourses around the Section 28 repeal in Scotland
This article focuses on conceptualizations of equality in the discourses deployed in the campaign to repeal Section 28 in Scotland. I use the parliamentary debates and two newspapers: the Daily Record, which supported the campaign to Keep the Clause, and The Guardian, which supported repeal, to exemplify the different discursive articulations around equality and citizenship. I suggest that the Scottish example provides further evidence of the ways in which liberalism naturalizes heterosexuality as the standard for citizenship and thus bequeaths a hierarchy of 'equality' and citizenship in the realm of sexuality, wherein lesbian and gay citizenship is either rendered invalid or characterized as 'special rights'. However, within the narrow confines of the parliamentary debates, more expansive and differentiated notions of citizenship and equality are evident. Whilst I conclude that the 'shape' of equality achieved through the repeal has been moulded to support institutionalized heterosexuality - with Section 28 replaced by statutory guidelines on sex education which advocate marriage - I also suggest equality is contested, both through the recognition of transformations in heterosexual family forms and the appeal to non-discrimination as a democratic principle. It is possible, therefore, that current destabilizations of the heterosexual social order simultaneously destabilize the precepts of liberal democracy
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