scholarly journals Role of Tactile Noise in the Control of Digit Normal Force

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdeldjallil Naceri ◽  
Yasemin B. Gultekin ◽  
Alessandro Moscatelli ◽  
Marc O. Ernst

Whenever we grasp and lift an object, our tactile system provides important information on the contact location and the force exerted on our skin. The human brain integrates signals from multiple sites for a coherent representation of object shape, inertia, weight, and other material properties. It is still an open question whether the control of grasp force occurs at the level of individual fingers or whether it is also influenced by the control and the signals from the other fingers of the same hand. In this work, we approached this question by asking participants to lift, transport, and replace a sensorized object, using three- and four-digit grasp. Tactile input was altered by covering participant's fingertips with a rubber thimble, which reduced the reliability of the tactile sensory input. In different experimental conditions, we covered between one and three fingers opposing the thumb. Normal forces at each finger and the thumb were recorded while grasping and holding the object, with and without the thimble. Consistently with previous studies, reducing tactile sensitivity increased the overall grasping force. The gasping force increased in the covered finger, whereas it did not change from baseline in the remaining bare fingers (except the thumb for equilibrium constraints). Digit placement and object tilt were not systematically affected by rubber thimble conditions. Our results suggest that, in each finger opposing thumb, digit normal force is controlled locally in response to the applied tactile perturbation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (09) ◽  
pp. 2050077
Author(s):  
Xue Mi ◽  
Xiao-Ming Bai ◽  
Pan Tang ◽  
Hai Xie ◽  
Jin-Fang Peng ◽  
...  

In this work, to investigate the role of the third body in the fretting behavior of 690 alloy, the fretting capabilities of 690 alloy against 405 stainless steel have been performed under various experimental conditions. The testing normal force and temperature varied from 10 N to 40 N and from room-temperature (RT) to [Formula: see text]C, respectively, at 5 Hz and 200 [Formula: see text]m. The results demonstrated that the profile shape of wear scar was dependent on the action of the wear particles. Three typical profile shapes were examined in this work: “U” shape, “W” shape and “M” shape. The balance of the formation and ejection of wear particles led to a steady value of the coefficient of friction (COF) and friction energy.


Author(s):  
Nalin J. Unakar

The increased number of lysosomes as well as the close approximation of lysosomes to the Golgi apparatus in tissue under variety of experimental conditions is commonly observed. These observations suggest Golgi involvement in lysosomal production. The role of the Golgi apparatus in the production of lysosomes in mouse liver was studied by electron microscopy of liver following toxic injury by CCI4.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Whitney R. Ringwald ◽  
Aidan G.C. Wright

Empathy theoretically serves an affiliative interpersonal function by satisfying motives for intimacy and union with others. Accordingly, empathy is expected to vary depending on the situation. Inconsistent empirical support for empathy’s affiliative role may be due to methodology focused on individual differences in empathy or differences between controlled experimental conditions, which fail to capture its dynamic and interpersonal nature. To address these shortcomings, we used ecological momentary assessment to establish typical patterns of empathy across everyday interactions. Associations among empathy, affect, and interpersonal behavior of self and interaction partner were examined in a student sample (N=330), then replicated in a pre-registered community sample (N=279). Multi-level structural equation modeling was used to distinguish individual differences in empathy from interaction-level effects. Results show people are more empathetic during positively-valanced interactions with others perceived as warm and when expressing warmth. By confirming the typically affiliative role of empathy, existing research to the contrary can be best understood as exceptions to the norm.


Author(s):  
Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard

Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard addresses the role of sound in the creation of presence in virtual and actual worlds. He argues that imagination is a central part of the generation and selection of perceptual hypotheses—models of the world in which we can act—that emerge from what Grimshaw-Aagaard calls the “exo-environment” (the sensory input) and the “endo-environment” (the cognitive input). Grimshaw-Aagaard further divides the exo-environment into a primarily auditory and a primarily visual dimension and he deals with the actual world of his own apartment and the virtual world of first-person-shooter computer games in order to exemplify how we perceptually construct an environment that allows for the creation of presence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Umit Demirbas ◽  
Martin Kellert ◽  
Jelto Thesinga ◽  
Yi Hua ◽  
Simon Reuter ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present detailed experimental results with cryogenic Yb:YLF gain media in rod-geometry. We have comparatively investigated continuous-wave (cw) lasing and regenerative amplification performance under different experimental conditions. In the cw lasing experiments effect of crystal doping, cw laser cavity geometry and pump wavelength on lasing performance were explored. Regenerative amplification behavior was analyzed and the role of depolarization losses on performance was investigated. A recently developed temperature estimation method was also employed for the first time in estimating average crystal temperature under lasing conditions. It is shown that the thermal lens induced by transverse temperature gradients is the main limiting factor and strategies for future improvements are discussed. To the best of our knowledge, the achieved results in this study (375 W in cw, and 90 W in regenerative amplification) are the highest average powers ever obtained from this system via employing the broadband E//a axis.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1052
Author(s):  
Tiansong Qi ◽  
Longcang Shu ◽  
Hu Li ◽  
Xiaobo Wang ◽  
Yanqing Men ◽  
...  

The vadose zone plays a significant role during artificial recharge via the infiltration basin. Its thickness, lithology, heterogeneity, among others greatly affect the recharge efficiency. The main objective of this research is to establish the role of the vadose zone and the impacts of infiltration basin features and vadose zone factors on water distributions. In this work, an ideal conceptual model was considered, and mathematical models were built using HYDRUS (2D/3D) software package version 2.05. A total of 138 numerical experiments were implemented under seven types of experimental conditions. The experimental data were analyzed with the aid of correlation and regression analysis. The results showed that infiltration basin features and vadose zone factors had various impacts on water distribution, low permeability formation had various effects on evaporation depending on its depth, and there were consistent, similar, or different variation trends between infiltration and recharge. In conclusion, it is recommended that when the vadose zones are to be chosen as an infiltration basin site, the trade-off among the infiltration, recharge, storage, and evaporation should be seriously considered. This paper may contribute to a better understanding of the vadose zone as a buffer zone for artificial recharge.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Etsuo Niki

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species have been implicated in the onset and progression of various diseases and the role of antioxidants in the maintenance of health and prevention of diseases has received much attention. The action and effect of antioxidants have been studied extensively under different reaction conditions in multiple media. The antioxidant effects are determined by many factors. This review aims to discuss several important issues that should be considered for determination of experimental conditions and interpretation of experimental results in order to understand the beneficial effects and limit of antioxidants against detrimental oxidation of biological molecules. Emphasis was laid on cell culture experiments and effects of diversity of multiple oxidants on antioxidant efficacy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 6197
Author(s):  
Paola Brivio ◽  
Giulia Sbrini ◽  
Letizia Tarantini ◽  
Chiara Parravicini ◽  
Piotr Gruca ◽  
...  

Epigenetics is one of the mechanisms by which environmental factors can alter brain function and may contribute to central nervous system disorders. Alterations of DNA methylation and miRNA expression can induce long-lasting changes in neurobiological processes. Hence, we investigated the effect of chronic stress, by employing the chronic mild stress (CMS) and the chronic restraint stress protocol, in adult male rats, on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) function. We focused on DNA methylation specifically in the proximity of the glucocorticoid responsive element (GRE) of the GR responsive genes Gadd45β, Sgk1, and Gilz and on selected miRNA targeting these genes. Moreover, we assessed the role of the antipsychotic lurasidone in modulating these alterations. Chronic stress downregulated Gadd45β and Gilz gene expression and lurasidone normalized the Gadd45β modification. At the epigenetic level, CMS induced hypermethylation of the GRE of Gadd45β gene, an effect prevented by lurasidone treatment. These stress-induced alterations were still present even after a period of rest from stress, indicating the enduring nature of such changes. However, the contribution of miRNA to the alterations in gene expression was moderate in our experimental conditions. Our results demonstrated that chronic stress mainly affects Gadd45β expression and methylation, effects that are prolonged over time, suggesting that stress leads to changes in DNA methylation that last also after the cessation of stress procedure, and that lurasidone is a modifier of such mechanisms.


Perception ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Lesèvre ◽  
A Rémond

Experiments are reported the aim of which was to elucidate the cause of each of the components of the lambda response, and particularly to evaluate the role of ‘on’ and ‘off’ visual effects which appear at various times during the oculomotor process and also the possible influence of non-visual mechanisms. Eight subjects with normal sight were studied under the following conditions: (i) horizontal eye movements of 12° were guided by fixation points placed on a dimly-lit uniform black field of 20°; a checkerboard of 6° aperture was placed in this field so as to be integrated into the oculomotor process at different times—at the beginning, during and at the end of the eye movement; (ii) successive horizontal eye movements of 3°, 7° and 11° scanned a checkerboard of 20°, each square of which had a 40′ aperture; (iii) the checkerboard was moved with an amplitude and period similar to those of the eye movements in (ii), but this time with gaze fixed. Horizontal and vertical movements of both eyes were recorded with an EOG. An EEG of the parieto-occipital regions was obtained using eight linked bipolar derivations in line on two montages, median longitudinal and right-left transverse. The EEG and EOG data were digitalized and a numerical programme of waveform recognition was used to identify the beginning of the saccade which triggers the averaging out of the EEG before (100 ms) and after (500 ms) the eye movement. A discussion of the results, taking into account the latency of the different components and their reinforcements or inhibition depending on experimental conditions, suggests that the two initial components of lambda response (including the initial portion of the classical lambda wave) might be due to visual effects (‘off effect’) that arise at the start of the movement or slightly before it at the time that the saccadic suppression begins. The later components could be attributed to visual effects brought into play towards the end of the movement (‘on effect’), when perception becomes normal again. It is, however, difficult to explain some of the results related to the amplitude of lambda components without bringing in a mechanism of non-visual origin (corollary discharge).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaocui Wang ◽  
◽  
Runlan Wang ◽  
Bo Huang ◽  
Jiliang Mo ◽  
...  

In this work, a comparative study is performed to investigate the influence of time-varying normal forces on the friction properties and friction-induced stick-slip vibration by experimental and theoretical methods. In the experiments, constant and harmonic-varying normal forces are applied, respectively. The measured vibration signals under two loading forms are compared in both time and frequency domains. In addition, mathematical tools such as phase space reconstruction and Fourier spectra are used to reveal the science behind the complicated dynamic behaviour. It can be found that the friction system shows steady stick-slip vibration, and the main frequency does not vary with the magnitude of the constant normal force, but the size of limit cycle increases with the magnitude of the constant normal force. In contrast, the friction system harmonic normal force shows complicated behaviour, for example, higher-frequency larger-amplitude vibration occurs as the frequency of the normal force increases. The interesting findings offer a new way for controlling friction-induced stick-slip vibration in engineering applications.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document