A digitally controlled system for effecting and presenting a selected electrical resistance

A digitally controlled resistance generator is described, in which resistors having values selected according to an expression 2(sup N-1)(R), where N is equal to the number of terms in the expression, and R is equal to the lowest value of resistance, are electrically inserted into a resistive circuit in accordance with a parallel binary signal provided by an analog-to-digital converter or a programmable computer. This binary signal is coupled via optical isolators which, when activated by a logical 1, provides a negative potential to some or all of the gate inputs of the normally on field effect transistors which, when on, shorts out the associated resistor. This applied negative potential turns the field effect transistors off and electrically inserts the resistor coupled between the source terminal and the drain terminal of that field effect transistor into the resistive circuit between the terminals

Sense of agency, associative learning, and schizotypy

Despite the fact that the role of learning is recognised in empirical and theoretical work on sense of agency (SoA), the nature of this learning has, rather surprisingly, received little attention. In the present study we consider the contribution of associative mechanisms to SoA. SoA can be measured quantitatively as a temporal linkage between voluntary actions and their external effects. Using an outcome blocking procedure, it was shown that training action-outcome associations under conditions of increased surprise augmented this temporal linkage. Moreover, these effects of surprise were correlated with schizotypy scores, suggesting that individual differences in higher level experiences are related to associative learning and to its impact on SoA. These results are discussed in terms of models of SoA, and our understanding of disrupted SoA in certain disorders

Henri Temianka Correspondence; (fletcher)

This collection contains material pertaining to the life, career, and activities of Henri Temianka, violin virtuoso, conductor, music teacher, and author. Materials include correspondence, concert programs and flyers, music scores, photographs, and books.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/temianka_correspondence/2076/thumbnail.jp

Attribution of intentional causation influences the perception of observed movements: behavioral evidence and neural correlates

Recent research on human agency suggests that intentional causation is associated with a subjective compression in the temporal interval between actions and their effects. That is, intentional movements and their causal effects are perceived as closer together in time than equivalent unintentional movements and their causal effects. This so-called intentional binding effect is consistently found for one's own self-generated actions. It has also been suggested that intentional binding occurs when observing intentional movements of others. However, this evidence is undermined by limitations of the paradigm used. In the current study we aimed to overcome these limitations using a more rigorous design in combination with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to explore the neural underpinnings of intentional binding of observed movements. In particular, we aimed to identify brain areas sensitive to the interaction between intentionality and causality attributed to the observed action. Our behavioral results confirmed the occurrence of intentional binding for observed movements using this more rigorous paradigm. Our fMRI results highlighted a collection of brain regions whose activity was sensitive to the interaction between intentionality and causation. Intriguingly, these brain regions have previously been implicated in the sense of agency over one's own movements. We discuss the implications of these results for intentional binding specifically, and the sense of agency more generally

Would Two Dimensions be World Enough for Spacetime?

We consider various curious features of general relativity, and relativistic field theory, in two spacetime dimensions. In particular, we discuss: the vanishing of the Einstein tensor; the failure of an initial-value formulation for vacuum spacetimes; the status of singularity theorems; the non-existence of a Newtonian limit; the status of the cosmological constant; and the character of matter fields, including perfect fluids and electromagnetic fields. We conclude with a discussion of what constrains our understanding of physics in different dimensions.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figur

Digital demodulator-correlator

An apparatus for demodulation and correlation of a code modulated 10 MHz signal is presented. The apparatus is comprised of a sample and hold analog-to-digital converter synchronized by a frequency coherent 40 MHz pulse to obtain four evenly spaced samples of each of the signal. Each sample is added or subtracted to or from one of four accumulators to or from the separate sums. The correlation functions are then computed. As a further feature of the invention, multipliers are each multiplied by a squarewave chopper signal having a period that is long relative to the period of the received signal to foreclose contamination of the received signal by leakage from either of the other two terms of the multipliers

Polyimide processing additives

A process for preparing polyimides having enhanced melt flow properties is described. The process consists of heating a mixture of a high molecular weight poly-(amic acid) or polyimide with a low molecular weight amic acid or imide additive in the range of 0.05 to 15 percent by weight of additive. The polyimide powders so obtained show improved processability, as evidenced by lower melt viscosity by capillary rheometry. Likewise, films prepared from mixtures of polymers with additives show improved processability with earlier onset of stretching by TMA

NUMERICAL COMPUTER PERPHERAL INTERACTIVE DEVICE WITH MANUAL CONTROLS

A computer peripheral device is disclosed which in cludes a joystick whose displacement from a center position along two axes X and Y in either a plus (+) or a minus (-) direction is sensed. The displacement magnitude in either direction controls the rate of clock pulses provided by a variable frequency clock. The clock pulses from the two clocks are accumulated in two separate counters, whose contents are dis played. The contents of the counters are suppliable to a computer to update the contents of specific cells which define the position of a cursor on a display which is under computer control

The role of the Niemann-Pick disease, type C1 protein in adipocyte insulin action.

The Niemann-Pick disease, type C1 (NPC1) gene encodes a transmembrane protein involved in cholesterol efflux from the lysosome. SNPs within NPC1 have been associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes, and mice heterozygous or null for NPC1 are insulin resistant. However, the molecular mechanism underpinning this association is currently undefined. This study aimed to investigate the effects of inhibiting NPC1 function on insulin action in adipocytes. Both pharmacological and genetic inhibition of NPC1 impaired insulin action. This impairment was evident at the level of insulin signalling and insulin-mediated glucose transport in the short term and decreased GLUT4 expression due to reduced liver X receptor (LXR) transcriptional activity in the long-term. These data show that cholesterol homeostasis through NPC1 plays a crucial role in maintaining insulin action at multiple levels in adipocytes