Stimulation of Different Sectors of the Human Dorsal Premotor Cortex Induces a Shift from Reactive to Predictive Action Strategies and Changes in Motor Inhibition: A Dense Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Mapping Study

Delayed motor tasks require timely interaction between immobility and action. The neural substrates of these processes probably reside in the premotor and motor circuits; however, fine-grained anatomical/functional information is still lacking. Participants performed a delayed simple reaction task, structured as a ready-set-go sequence, with a fixed, predictable, SET-period. Responses were given with lip movements. During the SET-period, we performed a systematic dense-mapping of the bilateral dorsal premotor region (dPM) by means of single transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulses on an 18-spot mapping grid, interleaved with sham TMS which served as a baseline. Reaction times (RTs) in TMS trials over each grid spot were compared to RTs in sham trials to build a statistical parametric z-map. The results reveal a rostro-caudal functional gradient in the dPM. TMS of the rostral dPM induced a shift from reactive towards predictive response strategies. TMS of the caudal dPM interfered with the SET-period duration. By means of dense TMS mapping, we have drawn a putative functional map of the role of the dPM during the SET-period. A higher-order rostral component is involved in setting action strategies and a caudal, lower-order, part is probably involved in the inhibitory control of motor output.

Recognising Freedom of Thought in Irish Constitutional Law

Recent technological advances have made clear that law needs to take a stance in relation to freedom of thought. Although there is no formal recognition of freedom of thought in the text of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, I will argue that such a right does exist in Irish law on the basis of both implicit and initial explicit recognition for freedom of thought in the decisions of the superior courts. Part 2 lays out the ways in which freedom of thought is implicitly recognised in the Irish legal system, both through the protection of other constitutional rights and through the place of international law in the Irish legal order. Part 3 takes the analysis a step further, using the doctrine of unenumerated rights (a peculiarity of Irish constitutional law) to spotlight an overlooked Supreme Court judgment in which the right to freedom of thought has been judicially recognised in the absence of a textual mandate in the Constitution. It then proceeds to shore up arguments in favour of such recognition, arguing that protecting freedom of thought is a good thing, because it honours human freedom and human dignity.

Analysis of the Effects of the Viscous Thermal Losses in the Flute Musical Instruments

This article presents the third part of a larger project whose final objective is to study and analyse the effects of viscous thermal losses in a flute wind musical instrument. After implementing the test bench in the first phase and modelling and validating the dynamic behaviour of the simulator, based on the previously implemented test bench (without considering the losses in the system) in the second phase, this third phase deals with the study of the viscous thermal losses that will be generated within the resonator of the flute. These losses are mainly due to the friction of the air inside the resonator with its boundaries and the changes of the temperature within this medium. They are mainly affected by the flute geometry and the materials used in the fabrication of this instrument. After modelling these losses in the frequency domain, they will be represented using a system approach where the fractional order part is separated from the system’s transfer function. Thus, this representation allows us to study, in a precise way, the influence of the fractional order behaviour on the overall system. Effectively, the fractional behavior only appears much below the 20 Hz audible frequencies, but it explains the influence of this order on the frequency response over the range [20–20,000] Hz. Some simulations will be proposed to show the effects of the fractional order on the system response.

Reconstruction of the burial № 2 destruction process at the Chernyakhiv culture cemetery Komariv-1

The article is devoted to the analysis of burial 2 from the Chernyakhiv culture cemetery Komariv-1 (Kelmentsy district, Chernivtsi region). The northern burial, destroyed in ancient time, belonged to a woman. The text provides a description of the archaeological complex, the reconstruction of the original appearance and the gradual reconstruction of the destruction process. Based on the known data about the costume of the bearers of the Chernyakhiv culture, the peculiarities of the funeral rite, the peculiarities of the placement of the grave goods, it was possible to reconstruct the original appearance of the completely destroyed burial. Thanks to anthropological determinations of the position of individual human bones in the burial, it was possible to determine the sequence of destruction of the skeleton and grave goods. After entering the grave pit, the skull was separated. The skull was then placed face down in the center of the grave. After that, the chest was destroyed. The bones of the legs were inserted in a certain sequence (crossed bones, inverted bones, mirror-embedded bones). The last stage of the destruction of the burial was the destruction of the skeleton of the sheep (food-offering) and turning over and breaking the utensils in the burial. After the burial was destroyed, the burial pit remained open. According to the information received, the burial was destroyed after the decomposition of the soft tissues of the body, but before the decomposition of the leather elements of the suit. According to the results of the study, the following conclusions were made: • Even a completely destroyed burial can be reconstructed to its original appearance. • Different areas of the skeleton were subjected to different manipulations. The thorax is destroyed, the skull and bones of the legs are re-inserted in a certain (non-anatomical) order. • Part of the inventory (at least one silver fibula) was removed from the burial, but the main purpose was not looting but the destruction of the burial. • Burial occurred between the decomposition of the soft tissues of the body and the leather elements of the suit. Key words: Chernyakhiv culture, funeral rite, destroyed burials, reconstruction of funeral rite, post-funeral rite.

Local Currency Settlement Between China and Russia in the Post-Covid-19 Era: Current State, Challenges and Solutions Part I

The research was prepared for the scientific project № 18-010-00500 that is referred to as “Challenges Russia facing with in the light of the new Integrated world economic system formation and transition from the Industrial society of the XXth century to the Information society of the XXIst century” and supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. The paper is devoted to the actual issues of de-dollarization in global and cross-country relations (on the example of China-Russia ones). The main goal of the research is to identify the challenges and threats for RMB and ruble usage and work out the instruments and mechanisms to stimulate de-dollarization processes in the Eurasian region and worldwide. Firstly, we determine the key negative factors influencing word financial and economic system development and increasing the turbulence within it. Secondly, the history of local currency settlement (LCS) between China and Russia was accurately analyzed and divided into phases. Thirdly, we addressed the processes preventing its successful development (these tasks were solved in part 1 of the work). Finally, we offered the practical solutions to intensify the LCS between China and Russia and facilitate the building of new world economic order (part 2).

INTEGRAL REPRESENTATION OF SOLUTIONS OF AN ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION AND THE LOEWNER– KUFAREV EQUATION

The article presents a method of integral representation of solutions of ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations with a polynomial right-hand side part, which is an alternative to the construction of solutions of differential equations in the form of different series. The method is based on the introduction of additional analytical functions establishing the equation of connection between the introduced functions and the constituent components of the original differential equation. The implementation of the coupling equations contributes to the representation of solutions of the differential equation in the integral form, which allows solving some problems of mathematics and mathematical physics. The first part of the article describes the coupling equation for an ordinary differential equation of the first order with a special polynomial part of a higher order. Here, the integral representation of the solution of a differential equation with a second-order polynomial part is indicated in detail. In the second part of the paper, we consider the integral representation of the solution of a partial differential equation with the polynomial second-order part of the Loewner–Kufarev equation, which is an equation for univalent functions.

Integer-and Fractional-Order Integral and Derivative Two-Port Summations: Practical Design Considerations

This paper targets on the design and analysis of specific types of transfer functions obtained by the summing operation of integer-order and fractional-order two-port responses. Various operations provided by fractional-order, two-terminal devices have been studied recently. However, this topic needs to be further studied, and the topologies need to be analyzed in order to extend the state of the art. The studied topology utilizes the passive solution of a constant-phase element (with order equal to 0.5) implemented by parallel resistor–capacitor circuit (RC) sections operating as a fractional-order two-port. The integer-order part is implemented by operational amplifier-based lossless integrators and differentiators in branches with electronically adjustable gain, useful for time constant tuning. Four possible cases of the fractional-order and integer-order two-port interconnections are analyzed analytically, by PSpice simulations and also experimentally in the frequency range between 10 Hz and 1 MHz. Standard discrete active components are used in this design for laboratory verification. Practical recommendations for construction and also particular solutions overcoming possible issues with instability and DC offsets are also given. Experimental and simulated results are in good agreement with theory.