1,896 research outputs found
Sleep-related memory consolidation in the psychosis spectrum phenotype
Sleep and memory processing impairments range from mild to severe in the psychosis spectrum. Relationships between memory processing and sleep characteristics have been described for schizophrenia, including unaffected first-degree relatives, but they are less clear across other high-risk groups within the psychosis spectrum. In this study, we investigated high-risk individuals with accumulated risk-factors for psychosis and subthreshold symptoms. Out of 1898 screened individuals, 44 age- and sex-matched participants were sub-grouped into those with substantial environmental risk factors for psychosis and subthreshold psychotic symptoms (high-risk group) and those without these phenotypes (low-risk controls). Four groups (high/low risk, morning/evening training) were trained and tested in the laboratory for sustained attention, motor skill memory (finger-tapping task) and declarative memory (word-pair learning task) immediately after training, again after a night of EEG-recorded sleep at home or a period of daytime wakefulness, and again after 24 h from training. No differences in sustained attention or in memory consolidation of declarative and motor skill memory were found between groups for any time period tested. However, a group difference was found for rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep in relation to motor skill memory: the longer the total sleep time, particularly longer REM sleep, the greater the performance gain, which occurred only in high-risk individuals. In conclusion, our results suggest a gain in motor skill performance with sufficient sleep opportunity for longer REM sleep in high-risk individuals with subthreshold psychotic symptoms. Declarative memory did not benefit from sleep consolidation above or beyond that of the control group
Stability transitions for axisymmetric relative equilibria of Euclidean symmetric Hamiltonian systems
In the presence of noncompact symmetry, the stability of relative equilibria
under momentum-preserving perturbations does not generally imply robust
stability under momentum-changing perturbations. For axisymmetric relative
equilibria of Hamiltonian systems with Euclidean symmetry, we investigate
different mechanisms of stability: stability by energy-momentum confinement,
KAM, and Nekhoroshev stability, and we explain the transitions between these.
We apply our results to the Kirchhoff model for the motion of an axisymmetric
underwater vehicle, and we numerically study dissipation induced instability of
KAM stable relative equilibria for this system.Comment: Minor revisions. Typographical errors correcte
Texture and shape of two-dimensional domains of nematic liquid crystal
We present a generalized approach to compute the shape and internal structure
of two-dimensional nematic domains. By using conformal mappings, we are able to
compute the director field for a given domain shape that we choose from a rich
class, which includes drops with large and small aspect ratios, and sharp
domain tips as well as smooth ones. Results are assembled in a phase diagram
that for given domain size, surface tension, anchoring strength, and elastic
constant shows the transitions from a homogeneous to a bipolar director field,
from circular to elongated droplets, and from sharp to smooth domain tips. We
find a previously unaccounted regime, where the drop is nearly circular, the
director field bipolar and the tip rounded. We also find that bicircular
director fields, with foci that lie outside the domain, provide a remarkably
accurate description of the optimal director field for a large range of values
of the various shape parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure
Demonstration of a picosecond Bragg switch for hard x-rays in a synchrotron-based pump-probe experiment
We report a benchmark experiment that demonstrates shortening of hard x-ray
pulses in a synchrotron-based optical pump - x-ray probe experiment. The pulse
shortening device, a picosecond Bragg switch, reduces the temporal resolution
of an incident x-ray pulse to 7.5 ps. We employ the Bragg switch to monitor
propagating sound waves in nanometer-thin epitaxial films. With the
experimental data we infer pulse duration, diffraction efficiency and switching
contrast of the device. A detailed efficiency analysis shows, that the switch
can deliver up to 1010 photons/sec in high-repetition rate synchrotron
experiments
Temperature Dependence of Facet Ridges in Crystal Surfaces
The equilibrium crystal shape of a body-centered solid-on-solid (BCSOS) model
on a honeycomb lattice is studied numerically. We focus on the facet ridge
endpoints (FRE). These points are equivalent to one dimensional KPZ-type growth
in the exactly soluble square lattice BCSOS model. In our more general context
the transfer matrix is not stochastic at the FRE points, and a more complex
structure develops. We observe ridge lines sticking into the rough phase where
thesurface orientation jumps inside the rounded part of the crystal. Moreover,
the rough-to-faceted edges become first-order with a jump in surface
orientation, between the FRE point and Pokrovsky-Talapov (PT) type critical
endpoints. The latter display anisotropic scaling with exponent instead
of familiar PT value .Comment: 12 pages, 19 figure
Spongivory in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
Sponges are functionally important coral reef fauna and there is strong evidence from the Caribbean that predation has important impacts on sponge-Assemblage dynamics; whether the same is true for Indo-Pacific sponges remains unknown. As a first step toward understanding the potential effects of spongivores on sponge diversity and abundance, we identified sponge predators at nine sites in Wakatobi Marine National Park, Indonesia, and conducted a short-Term caging experiment to examine the effects of excluding predators on noncryptic reef sponges at this location. Nudibranchs were the most abundant invertebrate spongivores, although their low densities are likely to limit their influence on sponges. Fish were the most abundant vertebrate spongivores with 16 species from six families observed feeding on sponges. Based on their abundance and our feeding observations, the fish with the greatest potential to influence sponge assemblages in Wakatobi Marine National Park were Zanclus cornutus, Chaetodon kleinii, Pygoplites diacanthus, and Pomacanthus sexstriatus. We did not detect an effect of excluding spongivores on noncryptic reef sponge abundance in our caging experiment, which may be due to these species having evolved chemical defenses against predators. Important areas for further research include the chemical ecology of Indo-Pacific sponges and whether spongivory currently restricts some species to cryptic or nonreef habitats
Boojums and the Shapes of Domains in Monolayer Films
Domains in Langmuir monolayers support a texture that is the two-dimensional
version of the feature known as a boojum. Such a texture has a quantifiable
effect on the shape of the domain with which it is associated. The most
noticeable consequence is a cusp-like feature on the domain boundary. We report
the results of an experimental and theoretical investigation of the shape of a
domain in a Langmuir monolayer. A further aspect of the investigation is the
study of the shape of a ``bubble'' of gas-like phase in such a monolayer. This
structure supports a texture having the form of an inverse boojum. The
distortion of a bubble resulting from this texture is also studied. The
correspondence between theory and experiment, while not perfect, indicates that
a qualitative understanding of the relationship between textures and domain
shapes has been achieved.Comment: replaced with published version, 10 pages, 13 figures include
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