scholarly journals Neural Experience of Conscious Time

“Pure perception and pure memory constantly intermingle” Henri Bergson, 1908. One can consider that “Time” and “memory” are related experiential facets of mentality. Without memory, there is no Time. To clarify, we distinguish between the physisist’s objective time (pTime), which has no emotive quality or memory component, and the subjective conscious time (cTime), which engages both emotions and memory. Our tripartite mechanism of a neural memory involves neurons interacting with their surrounding extracellular matrix (nECM). Incoming perceptions are chemically encoded in the nECM as metal-centered cognitive units of information (cuinfo), wherein NTs serve as molecular encoders of emotive states In the context of the tripartite mechanism (Marx & Gilon, 2012-2020), we consider two possible modes whereby the temporal sequence of events (i.e. cTime) could be recalled by the sensing neural net. Chemical (allosteric) sensing of cuinfo in the nECM by neural receptors (i.e. GPCR, integrins, etc.) which establish fleeting contact with the nECM as they diffuse along the neural membrane. Effectively, this is a lateral decoding process. Electrodynamic sensing of cuinfo vertically displaced from the neural surface. New nECM components and cuinfo are constantly being formed, like coral growths, extending from the neural surface. The individual neuron senses and decodes the distal cuinfo in the surrounding nECM (like long-distance radar detection). Neural sensing is consolidated and transformed by the net into comprehensive memory. These speculations suggest experimental tests to measure the interactions of the tripartite components, to examine the electro-chemical aspects of neural encoding of memory perceived as cTime.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-07
Author(s):  
Gerard Marx ◽  
Chaim Gilon

The idea that neural signaling is the basis of mental processes has a long history. We graphically summarize salient developments in the neurobiology of signaling, as a Timeline. In particular, we review the “tripartite mechanism” of neural memory, which centers on the interactions between a neuron with its surrounding extracellular matrix (nECM) doped with metals and neurotransmitters (NTs). Essentially, the neuron employs the nECM as its “memory material”, wherein it uses dopants to encode cognitive units of information (termed “cuinfo”). The NTs, which elicit bodily reactions (feelings), also encode past feelings as emotions, which “color” mental states in real-time and in memory. In the interest of developing experimental tests of the tripartite mechanism, impedance glass electrodes were covalently coated with an exemplar NT (oxytocin) or a sulfated tetra-saccharide analog of the nECM, were constructed and tested. The two types of coated, neuro-mimetic electrodes, termed “neulectrodes”, were capable of detecting metals, such as Hg+2, Pb+2, Cd+2, Cu+2, and Zn+2 with very high selectivity and sensitivity. The “neulectrodes” demonstrated that the chemodynamic interactions of metal cations with NTs or nECM-saccharide analogues can translate into electrodynamic signals. They experimentally validate the concept of the tripartite mechanism that underlies the chemo-electric encoding of neural memory.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 764
Author(s):  
Jarosław Bartnicki ◽  
Yingxiang Xia ◽  
Xuedao Shu

The paper presents chosen aspects of the skew rolling process of hollow stepped products with the use of a skew rolling mill designed and manufactured at the Lublin University of Technology. This machine is characterized by the numerical control of spacing between the working rolls and the sequence of the gripper axial movement, which allows for the individual programming of the obtained shapes of parts such as stepped axles and shafts. The length of these zones and the values of possibly realizable cross-section reduction and obtained outlines are the subject of this research paper. The chosen results regarding the influence of the technological parameters used on the course of the process are shown in the present study. Numerical modelling using the finite element method in Simufact Forming, as well as the results of experimental tests performed in a skew rolling mill, were applied in the conducted research. The work takes into account the influence of cross-section reduction of the hollow parts and the feed rate per rotation on the metal flow mechanisms in the skew rolling process. The presented results concern the obtained dimensional deviations and changes in the wall thickness determining the proper choice of technological parameters for hollow parts formed by the skew rolling method. Knowledge about the cause of the occurrence of these limitations is very important for the development of this technology and the choice of the process parameters.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Hasenjager ◽  
William Hoppitt ◽  
Ellouise Leadbeater

AbstractHoneybees famously use waggle dances to communicate foraging locations to nestmates in the hive, thereby recruiting them to those sites. The decision to dance is governed by rules that, when operating collectively, are assumed to direct foragers to the most profitable locations with little input from potential recruits, who are presumed to respond similarly to any dance regardless of its information content. Yet variation in receiver responses can qualitatively alter collective outcomes. Here, we use network-based diffusion analysis to compare the collective influence of dance information during recruitment to feeders at different distances. We further assess how any such effects might be achieved at the individual level by dance-followers either persisting with known sites when novel targets are distant and/or seeking more accurate spatial information to guide long-distance searches. Contrary to predictions, we found no evidence that dance-followers’ responses depended on target distance. While dance information was always key to feeder discovery, its importance did not vary with feeder distance, and bees were in fact quicker to abandon previously rewarding sites for distant alternatives. These findings provide empirical support for the longstanding assumption that self-organized foraging by honeybee colonies relies heavily on signal performance rules with limited input from recipients.


Africa ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonpie Kpone-Tonwe

This article is a product of research in the Ogoni region of the Niger delta between 1981 and 1991. It analyses an aspect of the pre-colonial economy of Ogoni, which aimed at preserving the proceeds of agricultural production and increasing the wealth of the individual. Agricultural production was not all for subsistence. A substantial proportion was sold off and the proceeds invested in the economy. The article argues that this was possible because the Ogoni were acquainted with the use of an all-purpose currency before the arrival of Europeans. By a method of linguistic analysis it was possible to trace the existence of such an indigenous currency and its spread from the Ogoni area to the rest of the eastern Niger delta and to the greater part of south-east Nigeria. It is shown that the Ogoni were major producers and distributors of large transport and fishing canoes in the eastern Niger delta. A thriving canoe-making industry at Ko on the Imo river, led to a culture of marine transport and distributive long-distance trade through the waterways of the delta and to the island of Equatorial Guinea and to the Cameroons. The conclusion summarises the evidence and drives home the fact that in pre-colonial Ogoni wealth was accumulated and reckoned not by the yardstick of more cash but by the possession of livestock and landed property.


Author(s):  
Norma Smith

Wearable technologies' popularity in sporting practices continues to grow. Runners use GPS watches and activity trackers to track steps, log miles, map courses, and monitor heart rates. Likewise, wearables are integrated into long distance running events, with race officials relying on technologies to effectively execute events. However, technologies can also enable and monitor cheating. Many studies focusing on the individual explore why cheaters make unethical decisions. Actor-Network Theory shifts cheating's focus from the individual and moral failings to an assemblage that includes not only the runner, but nonhumans, such as technology, as well. A 2015 Canadian Ironman cheating incident case study illuminates intricate relationships and networks between humans and nonhumans. By examining the intersections of cheating and technology in running sports, the authors see where and how technology works as intended or is repurposed. Whereas a human-centered approach to sport and cheating dismisses wearables' agency, Actor-Network Theory reveals their underexamined, sociotechnical complexities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. eaau7518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Blatchley ◽  
Franklyn Hall ◽  
Songnan Wang ◽  
Hawley C. Pruitt ◽  
Sharon Gerecht

Vascular morphogenesis is the formation of endothelial lumenized networks. Cluster-based vasculogenesis of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) has been observed in animal models, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Here, using O2-controllabe hydrogels, we unveil the mechanism by which hypoxia, co-jointly with matrix viscoelasticity, induces EPC vasculogenesis. When EPCs are subjected to a 3D hypoxic gradient ranging from <2 to 5%, they rapidly produce reactive oxygen species that up-regulate proteases, most notably MMP-1, which degrade the surrounding extracellular matrix. EPC clusters form and expand as the matrix degrades. Cell-cell interactions, including those mediated by VE-cadherin, integrin-β2, and ICAM-1, stabilize the clusters. Subsequently, EPC sprouting into the stiffer, intact matrix leads to vascular network formation. In vivo examination further corroborated hypoxia-driven clustering of EPCs. Overall, this is the first description of how hypoxia mediates cluster-based vasculogenesis, advancing our understanding toward regulating vascular development as well as postnatal vasculogenesis in regeneration and tumorigenesis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansour Alturki ◽  
Rigoberto Burgueño

This paper presents a new energy dissipation system composed of multistable cosine-curved domes (CCD) connected in series. The system exhibits multiple consecutive snap-through and snap-back buckling behavior with a hysteretic response. The response of the CCDs is within the elastic regime and hence the system's original configuration is fully recoverable. Numerical studies and experimental tests were conducted on the geometric properties of the individual CCD units and their number in the system to examine the force–displacement and energy dissipation characteristics. Finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to simulate the response of the system to develop a multilinear analytical model for the hysteretic response that considers the nonlinear behavior of the system. The model was used to study the energy dissipation characteristics of the system. Experimental tests on 3D printed specimens were conducted to analyze the system and validate numerical results. Results show that the energy dissipation mainly depends on the number and the apex height-to-thickness ratio of the CCD units. The developed multilinear analytical model yields conservative yet accurate values for the dissipated energy of the system. The proposed system offered reliable high energy dissipation with a maximum loss factor value of 0.14 for a monostable (self-recoverable) system and higher for a bistable system.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (23) ◽  
pp. 5184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Ryndzionek ◽  
Łukasz Sienkiewicz ◽  
Michał Michna ◽  
Filip Kutt

This paper represents a numerical and experimental investigation of the multicell piezoelectric motor. The proposed design consists of three individual cells that are integrated into the stator, double rotor, and a preload system combined into a symmetrical structure of the motor. Each of the cells is characterized by a traveling wave and rotating mode motor. A finite element numerical analysis is carried out to obtain optimal geometrical dimensions of the individual cell in terms of generated vibrations and resonant frequencies of the structure. The results of the numerical analysis are compared with analytical calculations based on the equivalent circuit theory. Experimental tests are also presented, including laser interferometry measurements of vibrations generated at the surface of the stator, impedance analysis, as well as measurements of mechanical characteristics of the complete motor. The final stage of the study concludes that the presented motor can provide relatively high torque compared with other traveling wave rotary motors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Leonor Varandas ◽  
João Faria ◽  
Pedro Gaspar ◽  
Martim Aguiar

Population growth and climate change lead agricultural cultures to face environmental degradation and rising of resistant diseases and pests. These conditions result in reduced product quality and increasing risk of harmful toxicity to human health. Thus, the prediction of the occurrence of diseases and pests and the consequent avoidance of the erroneous use of phytosanitary products will contribute to improving food quality and safety and environmental land protection. This study presents the design and construction of a low-cost IoT sensor mesh that enables the remote measurement of parameters of large-scale orchards. The developed remote monitoring system transmits all monitored data to a central node via LoRaWAN technology. To make the system nodes fully autonomous, the individual nodes were designed to be solar-powered and to require low energy consumption. To improve the user experience, a web interface and a mobile application were developed, which allow the monitored information to be viewed in real-time. Several experimental tests were performed in an olive orchard under different environmental conditions. The results indicate an adequate precision and reliability of the system and show that the system is fully adequate to be placed in remote orchards located at a considerable distance from networks, being able to provide real-time parameters monitoring of both tree and the surrounding environment.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 348-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Hickson ◽  
T. T. Kurowski ◽  
T. M. Galassi ◽  
D. G. Daniels ◽  
R. J. Chatterton Jr.

This study was undertaken to evaluate whether the increased androgen cytosol binding is an early or later event in the sequence of skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by surgical overload. Following removal of the synergistic gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, plantaris muscle weights of overloaded hypophysectomized male rats were heavier than those in the controls by 29% at 2 days, 41% at 7 days, 38% at 14 days, and 47% at 35 days. Androgen cytosol receptor binding capacities (femtomoles per milligram protein), determined using a synthetic androgen, [3H]methyltrienolone (R1881), were higher than observed in muscles of controls at all points of muscle enlargement. At high concentrations of labeled ligand, Scatchard analyses became nonlinear and were resolved using a two-component binding model. Receptor capacity of the higher affinity "androgenic component" for methyltrienolone binding in plantaris muscles was lower at 2 days but 60–80% higher at 7, 14, and 35 days in the hypertrophied group than in the control group. The lower affinity "glucocorticoid component" was higher in the overloaded group at all points following surgery. Several glucocorticoids and estradiol-17β competed equally with androgens for methyltrienolone binding. However, when cytosol s were incubated with triamcinolone acetonide to block methyltrienolone binding to glucocorticoid receptors, the androgenic component was highly specific for androgens. These results show that total [3H]methyltrienolone cytosol concentrations increased in parallel with the muscle hypertrophy, yet the individual components of methyltrienolone binding attained greater concentrations in overloaded muscles by an apparently different sequence of events.


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