Harmony and Disharmony: Acoustic Opposition in the Early Lyrics of Alexander Blok

The article studies the role of the observer - the subject of acoustic perception of poetic narrative, in particular, in the construction of a dual reality in the early work by Alexander Blok Poems about the Beautiful Lady. Acoustic perceptual data is the basis for the creation of complex mystical and philosophical symbols and poetic images. The divine, ideal world of the Beautiful Lady and the real world of the lyric hero are in opposition to each other in acoustic terms, which give rise to the opposition HARMONY - DISHARMONY. The opposition is realized in musical sounds, songs, and bell ringing typical of the upper world. The real world is characterized by other sounds, non-musical: groans, creaks, complaints, and crying. Accordingly, emotions also differ in value depending on belonging to one or another world: in the world of the Beautiful Lady they quietly laugh, rejoice; in the world of the lyrical hero they cry, moan, complain. SILENCE is a significant symbol of the divine world. The world of the Beautiful Lady is thus harmonious, musical and quiet. Its important element is the voices of birds: swans, cranes, eagles. Smell, touch and taste play a minor role in the creation of the Bloks dual reality. Temperature sensations participate in the formation of the COLD symbol as a phenomenon hostile to the divine world. Thus, the concept of dual reality in Bloks early lyrics is embodied in a number of acoustic oppositions and acoustic symbols of silence, song, and bell ringing.

The specifics of the physiological stress of the population in self-isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced national governments to take measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Self-isolation as one of the forms of protection against infection with viral diseases has led to an increase in physiological stress. The purpose of the study is to identify the specifics of the physiological stress of the population in self-isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. The study involved 638 students (average age - 23.38 years) undergraduate, specialist and graduate programs of full-time and part-time forms of analysis who went online during the period of self-isolation via Skype to participate in training sessions. Questionnaires were used: “What stress are you experiencing?” (P. Legeron), “Inventory of stress symptoms” (T. Ivanchenko), neuropsychic stress questionnaire (T.A. Nemchin), Toronto alexithymia scale (G.J. Taylor, D. Ryan, R.M. Bagby). Mathematical and statistical data processing - K. Pearson’s correlation criterion and Chaddock’s table. Results. Both the average level of physiological stress (6.74) and its components with a high connection were revealed: severity, increase, duration and frequency of neuropsychic stress (0.84, 0.86, 0.76, 0.86); disturbed sleep and wakefulness (0.82); negative sensations of the activity of the cardiovascular system (0.79), respiratory organs (0.80); pain and temperature sensations (0.73 and 0.75); drop in muscle tone (0.81); physical discomfort (0.84); increased susceptibility to external stimuli (0.87); decreased physical activity (0.79). Discussion. The results of studies by domestic and foreign doctors and psychologists confirm the need for diagnostics, prevention and correction of all types of stress conditions and levelling of physiological stress. Conclusion. The revealed specificity of physiological stress (pain in different parts of the body, dizziness and headaches, poor sleep, stiffness of movements, difficulty in breathing, an increase in the amount of food, coffee, cigarettes, fatigue, heart palpitations and physical stress) provides a basis for the management of primary and secondary prevention of general, physiological and emotional stress with the involvement of doctors, physiologists and psychologists.

Evaluation of Subjective Feelings of Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Residential Areas: A Case Study of Wuhan

Outdoor thermal comfort in urban residential areas is closely related to the daily lives of their residents. Nine residential communities in Wuhan, a typical city in central China, were selected as the research object. A questionnaire survey, meteorological parameter measurements, and data analyses were used to investigate the influences of factors such as the characteristics of the spatial environments and the types of outdoor activities undertaken by the residents on the levels of comfort. This investigation was expected to provide a reference for improving these levels. The results show that the level of satisfaction of those in areas with building heights of more than 15 stories reached 51%. Wind speeds were higher in medium-density areas while comfort was the highest in residential areas with densities between 22% and 30%. High-quality areas, which benefitted mainly from higher sensations of wind speed, had the highest levels of comfort but the strongest sensations of heat. A positive correlation exists between green areas and comfort. Where the green coverage rate exceeded 70.0%, temperature satisfaction increased to 33.3–66.7%. Areas with impervious paving are negatively correlated to temperature sensations. Areas of 400–625 m2 had levels of temperature satisfaction lower than 21.5%.

A Curious Case of Progressive Respiratory Failure Due to Anterior Spinal Cord Infarction in an Adolescent Boy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Clinical features of cervical spontaneous spinal cord infarctions (SSCIs) remain poorly described in the literature. The goal of this article is to improve recognition of cervical SSCI, a rare but life-threatening condition. We present a 15-year-old adolescent boy who developed neck pain with weakness and numbness in all four limbs half an hour after returning from a hike in the late afternoon. The next morning, he was brought to the emergency room due to persistent weakness, vomiting, and progressive respiratory distress. He was promptly intubated for airway protection. Pupils were 2 mm, sluggishly reactive, and all four extremities were flaccid. He was found to have anterior spinal cord syndrome. Light touch (brush) was normal down to the posterior aspect of shoulders. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed increased T2/short-tau inversion recovery and decreased T1 signal of the anterior spinal cord from C3 to C7. Four days later, MRI of the spinal cord showed restricted diffusion of anterior spinal cord consistent with radicular artery territory infarction. The work-ups for infection, thrombosis, and cardioembolism were all negative. Three months later, he still had incomplete Brown-Séquard's syndrome, as position sense was preserved. There was in addition bilateral loss of pain and temperature sensations below the clavicles. MRI showed cervical myelomalacia most severe between C3 and C5. Furthermore, MRI showed changes in C3–C4 intervertebral disc, consistent with a fibrocartilaginous embolism via retrograde arterial route into the anterior spinal artery. This article demonstrates the importance of recognizing subtle clinical clues leading to cervical SSCI diagnosis.

Development of Two-Sensation Feedback Device for Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand Users – Compensation of Effect of Temperature Change on Haptic Feedback –

In this study, a feedback device of force and temperature sensations for myoelectric prosthetic hand users was developed. When a prosthetic hand user grasps an object using the myoelectric prosthetic hand, the stiffness and temperature of the object are measured using sensors attached to the prosthetic hand, and force and temperature sensations are fed back to the upper arm of the user. From the experimental evaluation of the feedback device, the influence of temperature change on force sensations was confirmed. Therefore, to feed back the same force sensation to the user even if a temperature change has occurred, compensation functions were derived using the maximum likelihood method. On the basis of paired comparison, verification experiments were conducted, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the derived compensation functions.

Thermal Responsive Performances of a Spanish Balcony-Based Vernacular Envelope

Many operable and complementary layers make up a vernacular adaptive envelope. With vertical operable translucent textile blinds, horizontal foldable glass doors with thin structural framing, wooden horizontal foldable frames with vertical rotational shutters, plants with dynamic densities, humidity concentrations, and opaque operable textile blinds forming the deep responsive façades of many Southern European buildings as part of the building envelope. This low-tech configuration utilizes behavioral human interaction with the building. On their own, these are singular mechanisms, but as coupled systems, they become highly advanced adaptive building systems used to balance temperature sensations. The research investigates such an adaptive envelope structure through identification of operable elements and their thermal and energy performances through computer simulation models. The designed research computational model includes assessment of heat reception and transfer, resultant operative temperatures, and adaptive comfort sensations. The aim of the research and the material presented in this paper is understanding the performance of native, local, low-tech systems as an opposing approach to contemporary high-tech, complex mechanical systems. The study finds that the operable elements and various compositions make a significant, yet less than anticipated, impact on adaptive thermal comfort temperatures.

The Interoceptive Pathway to the Insular Cortex

This chapter looks at the experiments that demonstrated in monkeys and humans the unforeseen lamina I pathway to the thalamus and its subsequent projection to the interoceptive cortex. The ascending interoceptive thalamocortical pathway is phylogenetically unique to primates; it most likely arose in conjunction with the enormous encephalization associated with the emergence of the primate lineage. The existence of this pathway was a surprise to most investigators in the field of somatosensory neurobiology. As mentioned in chapter 1, a sensory representation of general feelings from the body had been envisioned by the German natural philosophers of the nineteenth century. However, that concept was superseded by the heuristic codification of nociception and the assignment of pain and temperature sensations to the somatosensory cortex. The chapter's findings rectify that misconception and substantiate the fundamental neurobiological distinction between interoception and exteroception at the thalamocortical level in the monkey and human.

The Origin of the Interoceptive Pathway

This chapter describes the functional and anatomical characteristics of interoceptive processing at the levels of the primary sensory fiber and the spinal cord. The association of the spinothalamic pathway with pain and temperature had already been described in textbooks for years. The clinical evidence indicated that a knife cut that severed the spinal cord on one side produced a loss of pain and temperature sensations only on the opposite (contralateral) side of the body, as tested with pinprick and a cold brass rod, combined with the loss of discriminative touch sensation and skeletal motor function on the same (ipsilateral) side as the injury to the spinal cord. The anatomical basis for this dissociated pattern of sensory loss is the distinctness of the two ascending somatosensory pathways to the brain-discriminative touch sensation in the uncrossed (ipsilateral) dorsal column pathway, and pain and temperature sensations in the crossed (contralateral) spinothalamic pathway.

Polyneuropathy

Typically polyneuropathy will cause the combination of distal limb muscle weakness, loss of tendon reflexes, and reduced distal limb sensation. There is variable involvement of the autonomic innervation, damage to which causes a dry, vasodilated foot or hand. Loss of tendon reflexes is a cardinal sign of polyneuropathy, often restricted to the ankle jerks in axonal degeneration, but involving more proximal reflexes in acquired demyelinating neuropathies which may involve more proximal segments or the nerve roots. Clinical features suggestive of demyelinating or conduction block polyneuropathy include: a relative lack of muscle wasting in relation to the degree of weakness because no denervation has occurred; weakness of proximal muscles as well as distal, because of nerve root involvement; and disproportionate loss of joint position and vibration sensations compared to relative preservation of pain and temperature sensations which are carried by unmyelinated fibres.