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Sample records for right-handed subjects participated

  1. Functional asymmetries in early learning during right, left, and bimanual performance in right-handed subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aznárez-Sanado, Maite; Fernández-Seara, Maria A; Loayza, Francis R; Pastor, Maria A

    2013-03-01

    To elucidate differences in activity and connectivity during early learning due to the performing hand. Twenty right-handed subjects were recruited. The neural correlates of explicit visuospatial learning executed with the right, the left hand, and bimanually were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Connectivity analyses were carried out using the psychophysiological interactions model, considering right and left anterior putamen as index regions. A common neural network was found for the three tasks during learning. Main activity increases were located in posterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area, parietal cortex, anterior putamen, and cerebellum (IV-V), whereas activity decrements were observed in prefrontal regions. However, the left hand task showed a greater recruitment of left hippocampal areas when compared with the other tasks. In addition, enhanced connectivity between the right anterior putamen and motor cortical and cerebellar regions was found for the left hand when compared with the right hand task. An additional recruitment of brain regions and increased striato-cortical and striato-cerebellar functional connections is needed when early learning is performed with the nondominant hand. In addition, access to brain resources during learning may be directed by the dominant hand in the bimanual task. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Microstructural asymmetry of the corticospinal tracts predicts right-left differences in circle drawing skill in right-handed adolescents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Angstmann, Steffen; Madsen, Kathrine Skak; Skimminge, Arnold

    2016-01-01

    Most humans show a strong preference to use their right hand, but strong preference for the right hand does not necessarily imply a strong right-left asymmetry in manual proficiency (i.e., dexterity). Here we tested the hypothesis that intra-individual asymmetry of manual proficiency would...... be reflected in microstructural differences between the right and left corticospinal tract (CST) in a cohort of 52 right-handed typically-developing adolescents (11-16 years). Participants were asked to fluently draw superimposed circles with their right dominant and left non-dominant hand. Temporal regularity...... of circle drawing movements was assessed for each hand using a digitizing tablet. Although all participants were right-handed, there was substantial inter-individual variation regarding the relative right-hand advantage for fluent circle drawing. All subjects underwent whole-brain diffusion tensor imaging...

  3. Non-right handed primary progressive apraxia of speech.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botha, Hugo; Duffy, Joseph R; Whitwell, Jennifer L; Strand, Edythe A; Machulda, Mary M; Spychalla, Anthony J; Tosakulwong, Nirubol; Senjem, Matthew L; Knopman, David S; Petersen, Ronald C; Jack, Clifford R; Lowe, Val J; Josephs, Keith A

    2018-07-15

    In recent years a large and growing body of research has greatly advanced our understanding of primary progressive apraxia of speech. Handedness has emerged as one potential marker of selective vulnerability in degenerative diseases. This study evaluated the clinical and imaging findings in non-right handed compared to right handed participants in a prospective cohort diagnosed with primary progressive apraxia of speech. A total of 30 participants were included. Compared to the expected rate in the population, there was a higher prevalence of non-right handedness among those with primary progressive apraxia of speech (6/30, 20%). Small group numbers meant that these results did not reach statistical significance, although the effect sizes were moderate-to-large. There were no clinical differences between right handed and non-right handed participants. Bilateral hypometabolism was seen in primary progressive apraxia of speech compared to controls, with non-right handed participants showing more right hemispheric involvement. This is the first report of a higher rate of non-right handedness in participants with isolated apraxia of speech, which may point to an increased vulnerability for developing this disorder among non-right handed participants. This challenges prior hypotheses about a relative protective effect of non-right handedness for tau-related neurodegeneration. We discuss potential avenues for future research to investigate the relationship between handedness and motor disorders more generally. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Microstructural asymmetry of the corticospinal tracts predicts right-left differences in circle drawing skill in right-handed adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angstmann, Steffen; Madsen, Kathrine Skak; Skimminge, Arnold; Jernigan, Terry L; Baaré, William F C; Siebner, Hartwig Roman

    2016-12-01

    Most humans show a strong preference to use their right hand, but strong preference for the right hand does not necessarily imply a strong right-left asymmetry in manual proficiency (i.e., dexterity). Here we tested the hypothesis that intra-individual asymmetry of manual proficiency would be reflected in microstructural differences between the right and left corticospinal tract (CST) in a cohort of 52 right-handed typically-developing adolescents (11-16 years). Participants were asked to fluently draw superimposed circles with their right dominant and left non-dominant hand. Temporal regularity of circle drawing movements was assessed for each hand using a digitizing tablet. Although all participants were right-handed, there was substantial inter-individual variation regarding the relative right-hand advantage for fluent circle drawing. All subjects underwent whole-brain diffusion tensor imaging at 3 Tesla. The right and left CST were defined as regions-of-interest and mean fractional anisotropy (FA) and diffusivity values were calculated for right and left CST. On average, mean FA values were higher in the left CST relative to right CST. The degree of right-left FA asymmetry showed a linear relationship with right-left asymmetry in fluent circle drawing after correction for age and gender. The higher the mean FA values were in the left dominant CST relative to the right non-dominant CST, the stronger was the relative right-hand advantage for regular circle drawing. These findings show that right-left differences in manual proficiency are highly variable in right-handed adolescents and that this variation is associated with a right-left microstructural asymmetry of the CST.

  5. Auditory middle latency responses differ in right- and left-handed subjects: an evaluation through topographic brain mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohebbi, Mehrnaz; Mahmoudian, Saeid; Alborzi, Marzieh Sharifian; Najafi-Koopaie, Mojtaba; Farahani, Ehsan Darestani; Farhadi, Mohammad

    2014-09-01

    To investigate the association of handedness with auditory middle latency responses (AMLRs) using topographic brain mapping by comparing amplitudes and latencies in frontocentral and hemispheric regions of interest (ROIs). The study included 44 healthy subjects with normal hearing (22 left handed and 22 right handed). AMLRs were recorded from 29 scalp electrodes in response to binaural 4-kHz tone bursts. Frontocentral ROI comparisons revealed that Pa and Pb amplitudes were significantly larger in the left-handed than the right-handed group. Topographic brain maps showed different distributions in AMLR components between the two groups. In hemispheric comparisons, Pa amplitude differed significantly across groups. A left-hemisphere emphasis of Pa was found in the right-handed group but not in the left-handed group. This study provides evidence that handedness is associated with AMLR components in frontocentral and hemispheric ROI. Handedness should be considered an essential factor in the clinical or experimental use of AMLRs.

  6. (Re)examining the Relationship Between Children's Subjective Wellbeing and Their Perceptions of Participation Rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloyd, Katrina; Emerson, Lesley

    2017-01-01

    In recent years wellbeing has been linked increasingly with children's rights, often characterised as central to their realisation. Indeed it has been suggested that the two concepts are so intertwined that their pairing has become something of a mantra in the literature on childhood. This paper seeks to explore the nature of the relationship between wellbeing and participation rights, using a recently developed 'rights-based' measure of children's participation in school and community, the Children's Participation Rights Questionnaire (CPRQ), and an established measure of subjective wellbeing - KIDSCREEN-10. The data for the study came from the Kids' Life and Times (KLT) which is an annual online survey of Primary 7 children carried out in Northern Ireland. In 2013 approximately 3800 children (51 % girls; 49 % boys) from 212 schools participated in KLT. The findings showed a statistically significant positive correlation between children's overall scores on the KIDSCREEN-10 subjective wellbeing measure and their perceptions that their participation rights are respected in school and community settings. Further, the results indicated that it is the social relations/autonomy questions on KIDSCREEN-10 which are most strongly related to children's perceptions that their participation rights are respected. Exploration of the findings by gender showed that there were no significant differences in overall wellbeing; however girls had higher scores than boys on the social relations/autonomy domain of KIDSCREEN-10. Girls were also more positive than boys about their participation in school and community. In light of the findings from this study, it is suggested that what lies at the heart of the relationship between child wellbeing and children's participation rights is the social/relational aspects of both participation and wellbeing.

  7. The seesaw with many right-handed neutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellis, John; Lebedev, Oleg

    2007-01-01

    There are no upper limits on the possible number of massive, singlet (right-handed) neutrinos that may participate in the seesaw mechanism, and some string constructions motivate seesaw models with up to O(100) right-handed neutrinos. In this case, the seesaw mass scale can be significantly higher than that in the traditional scheme with just 3 right-handed neutrinos. We consider the possible phenomenological implications of such models, in particular, for lepton-flavour violation and electric dipole moments. Since the neutrino masses depend on the Majorana mass scale linearly, while supersymmetric loop corrections depend on it logarithmically, the magnitude of lepton-flavour- and CP-violating transitions may increase with the multiplicity of the right-handed neutrinos and may be enhanced by orders of magnitude. We also point out that, in the context of leptogenesis, the bounds on the reheating temperature and the lightest neutrino mass get relaxed compared to those in the case of 3 right-handed neutrinos

  8. Programming of left hand exploits task set but that of right hand depends on recent history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Rixin; Zhu, Hong

    2017-07-01

    There are many differences between the left hand and the right hand. But it is not clear if there is a difference in programming between left hand and right hand when the hands perform the same movement. In current study, we carried out two experiments to investigate whether the programming of two hands was equivalent or they exploited different strategies. In the first experiment, participants were required to use one hand to grasp an object with visual feedback or to point to the center of one object without visual feedback on alternate trials, or to grasp an object without visual feedback and to point the center of one object with visual feedback on alternating trials. They then performed the tasks with the other hand. The result was that previous pointing task affected current grasping when it was performed by the left hand, but not the right hand. In experiment 2, we studied if the programming of the left (or right) hand would be affected by the pointing task performed on the previous trial not only by the same hand, but also by the right (or left) hand. Participants pointed and grasped the objects alternately with two hands. The result was similar with Experiment 1, i.e., left-hand grasping was affected by right-hand pointing, whereas right-hand grasping was immune from the interference from left hand. Taken together, the results suggest that when open- and closed-loop trials are interleaved, motor programming of grasping with the right hand was affected by the nature of the online feedback on the previous trial only if it was a grasping trial, suggesting that the trial-to-trial transfer depends on sensorimotor memory and not on task set. In contrast, motor programming of grasping with the left hand can use information about the nature of the online feedback on the previous trial to specify the parameters of the movement, even when the type of movement that occurred was quite different (i.e., pointing) and was performed with the right hand. This suggests that

  9. Left, right, left, right, eyes to the front! Müller-Lyer bias in grasping is not a function of hand used, hand preferred or visual hemifield, but foveation does matter.

    OpenAIRE

    van der Kamp, J.; de Wit, M.M.; Masters, R.S.W.

    2012-01-01

    We investigated whether the control of movement of the left hand is more likely to involve the use of allocentric information than movements performed with the right hand. Previous studies (Gonzalez et al. in J Neurophys 95:3496-3501, 2006; De Grave et al. in Exp Br Res 193:421-427, 2009) have reported contradictory findings in this respect. In the present study, right-handed participants (N = 12) and left-handed participants (N = 12) made right- and left-handed grasps to foveated objects and...

  10. Characteristics of Spatial Synchronization of Encephalograms in Left- and Right-Handed Subjects in Resting State and During Cognitive Testing: a Graph-Theory Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Lukoyanov M.V.; Grechikhin I.S.; Kalyagin V.A.; Pardalos P.M.; Mukhina I.V.

    2014-01-01

    Hand preference is one of the most striking manifestations of functional brain asymmetry. However, the nature of the phenomenon, as well as its interaction with other brain functions has not been fully understood. Therefore, the study of brain peculiarities of left- and right-handed subjects by neuronal network analysis is of particular interest. The aim of the investigation was to analyze brain network structures according to electroencephalography findings in left- and right-handed subj...

  11. Is that graspable? Let your right hand be the judge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Netelenbos, Nicole; Gonzalez, Claudia L R

    2015-02-01

    A right-hand preference for visually-guided grasping has been shown on numerous accounts. Grasping an object requires the integration of both visual and motor components of visuomotor processing. It has been suggested that the left hemisphere plays an integral role in visuomotor functions. The present study serves to investigate whether the visual processing of graspable objects, without any actual reaching or grasping movements, yields a right-hand (left-hemisphere) advantage. Further, we aim to address whether such an advantage is automatically evoked by motor affordances. Two groups of right-handed participants were asked to categorize objects presented on a computer monitor by responding on a keypad. The first group was asked to categorize visual stimuli as graspable (e.g. apple) or non-graspable (e.g. car). A second group categorized the same stimuli but as nature-made (e.g. apple) or man-made (e.g. car). Reaction times were measured in response to the visually presented stimuli. Results showed a right-hand advantage for graspable objects only when participants were asked to respond to the graspable/non-graspable categorization. When participants were asked to categorize objects as nature-made or man-made, a right-hand advantage for graspable objects did not emerge. The results suggest that motor affordances may not always be automatic and might require conscious representations that are appropriate for object interaction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. One hand or the other? Effector selection biases in right and left handers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Main, Julie C; Carey, David P

    2014-11-01

    Much debate in the handedness literature has centred on the relative merits of questionnaire-based measures assessing hand preference versus simple movement tasks such as peg moving or finger tapping, assessing hand performance. A third paradigm has grown in popularity, which assesses choices by participants when either hand could be used to execute movements. These newer measures may be useful in predicting possible "reversed" asymmetries in proportions of non-right handed ("adextral") people. In the current studies we examine hand choice in large samples of dextral (right handed) and adextral participants. Unlike in some previous experiments on choice, we found that left handers were as biased towards their dominant hand as were right handers, for grasping during a puzzle-making task (study 1). In a second study, participants had to point to either of two suddenly appearing targets with one hand or the other. In study 2, left handers were not significantly less one handed than their right-handed counterparts as in study 1. In a final study, we used random effects meta analysis to summarise the possible differences in hand choice between left handers and right handers across all hand choice studies published to date. The meta analysis suggests that right handers use their dominant hand 12.5% more than left handers favour their dominant hand (with 95% confidence that the real difference lies between 7% and 18%). These last results suggest that our two experiments reported here may represent statistical Type 2 errors. This mean difference may be related to greater left hemispheric language and praxic laterality in right handers. Nevertheless, more data are needed regarding the precise proportions of left and right handers who favour their preferred hands for different tasks. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Comparative analysis of brain EEG signals generated from the right and left hand while writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sardesai, Neha; Jamali Mahabadi, S. E.; Meng, Qinglei; Choa, Fow-Sen

    2016-05-01

    This paper provides a comparative analysis of right handed people and left handed people when they write with both their hands. Two left handed and one right handed subject were asked to write their respective names on a paper using both, their left and right handed, and their brain signals were measured using EEG. Similarly, they were asked to perform simple mathematical calculations using both their hand. The data collected from the EEG from writing with both hands is compared. It is observed that though it is expected that the right brain only would contribute to left handed writing and vice versa, it is not so. When a right handed person writes with his/her left hand, the initial instinct is to go for writing with the right hand. Hence, both parts of the brain are active when a subject writes with the other hand. However, when the activity is repeated, the brain learns to expect to write with the other hand as the activity is repeated and then only the expected part of the brain is active.

  14. The effect of hand position on perceived finger orientation in left- and right-handers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, Lindsey E; Harris, Laurence R

    2017-12-01

    In the absence of visual feedback, the perceived orientation of the fingers is systematically biased. In right-handers these biases are asymmetrical between the left and right hands in the horizontal plane and may reflect common functional postures for the two hands. Here we compared finger orientation perception in right- and left-handed participants for both hands, across various hand positions in the horizontal plane. Participants rotated a white line on a screen optically superimposed over their hand to indicate the perceived position of the finger that was rotated to one of seven orientations with the hand either aligned with the body midline, aligned with the shoulder, or displaced by twice the shoulder-to-midline distance from the midline. We replicated the asymmetric pattern of biases previously reported in right-handed participants (left hand biased towards an orientation ~30° inward, right hand ~10° inward). However, no such asymmetry was found for left-handers, suggesting left-handers may use different strategies when mapping proprioception to body or space coordinates and/or have less specialization of function between the hands. Both groups' responses rotated further outward as distance of the hand from the body midline increased, consistent with other research showing spatial orientation estimates diverge outward in the periphery. Finally, for right-handers, precision of responses was best when the hand was aligned with the shoulder compared to the other two conditions. These results highlight the unique role of hand dominance and hand position in perception of finger orientation, and provide insight into the proprioceptive position sense of the upper limbs.

  15. Right-handed sneutrinos as curvatons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McDonald, John

    2003-01-01

    We consider the possibility that a right-handed sneutrino can serve as the source of energy density perturbations leading to structure formation in cosmology. The cosmological evolution of a coherently oscillating condensate of right-handed sneutrinos is studied for the case where reheating after inflation is due to perturbative inflaton decays. For the case of Dirac neutrinos, it is shown that some suppression of Planck scale-suppressed corrections to the right-handed neutrino superpotential is necessary in order to have sufficiently late decay of the right-handed sneutrinos. cH 2 corrections to the sneutrino mass squared term must also be suppressed during inflation (vertical bar c vertical bar 0) or red (if c 6 GeV is possible). For the case of Majorana neutrinos, a more severe suppression of Planck-suppressed superpotential corrections is required. In addition, the Majorana sneutrino condensate is likely to be thermalized before it can dominate the energy density, which would exclude the Majorana right-handed sneutrino as a curvaton

  16. Right-handed fossil humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lozano, Marina; Estalrrich, Almudena; Bondioli, Luca; Fiore, Ivana; Bermúdez de Castro, José-Maria; Arsuaga, Juan Luis; Carbonell, Eudald; Rosas, Antonio; Frayer, David W

    2017-11-01

    Fossil hominids often processed material held between their upper and lower teeth. Pulling with one hand and cutting with the other, they occasionally left impact cut marks on the lip (labial) surface of their incisors and canines. From these actions, it possible to determine the dominant hand used. The frequency of these oblique striations in an array of fossil hominins documents the typically modern pattern of 9 right- to 1 left-hander. This ratio among living Homo sapiens differs from that among chimpanzees and bonobos and more distant primate relatives. Together, all studies of living people affirm that dominant right-handedness is a uniquely modern human trait. The same pattern extends deep into our past. Thus far, the majority of inferred right-handed fossils come from Europe, but a single maxilla from a Homo habilis, OH-65, shows a predominance of right oblique scratches, thus extending right-handedness into the early Pleistocene of Africa. Other studies show right-handedness in more recent African, Chinese, and Levantine fossils, but the sample compiled for non-European fossil specimens remains small. Fossil specimens from Sima del los Huesos and a variety of European Neandertal sites are predominately right-handed. We argue the 9:1 handedness ratio in Neandertals and the earlier inhabitants of Europe constitutes evidence for a modern pattern of handedness well before the appearance of modern Homo sapiens. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Cortical Asymmetries during Hand Laterality Task Vary with Hand Laterality: A fMRI Study in 295 Participants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mellet, Emmanuel; Mazoyer, Bernard; Leroux, Gaelle; Joliot, Marc; Tzourio-Mazoyer, Nathalie

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to characterize, using fMRI, the functional asymmetries of hand laterality task (HLT) in a sample of 295 participants balanced for handedness. During HLT, participants have to decide whether the displayed picture of a hand represent a right or a left hand. Pictures of hands’ back view were presented for 150 ms in the right or left hemifield. At the whole hemisphere level, we evidenced that the laterality of the hand and of the hemifield in which the picture was displayed combined their effects on the hemispheric asymmetry in an additive way. We then identified a set of 17 functional homotopic regions of interest (hROIs) including premotor, motor, somatosensory and parietal regions, whose activity and asymmetry varied with the laterality of the presented hands. When the laterality of a right hand had to be evaluated, these areas showed stronger leftward asymmetry, the hROI located in the primary motor area showing a significant larger effect than all other hROIs. In addition a subset of six parietal regions involved in visuo-motor integration together with two postcentral areas showed a variation in asymmetry with hemifield of presentation. Finally, while handedness had no effect at the hemispheric level, two regions located in the parietal operculum and intraparietal sulcus exhibited larger leftward asymmetry with right handedness independently of the hand of presentation. The present results extend those of previous works in showing a shift of asymmetries during HLT according to the hand presented in sensorimotor areas including primary motor cortex. This shift was not affected by manual preference. They also demonstrate that the coordination of visual information and handedness identification of hands relied on the coexistence of contralateral motor and visual representations in the superior parietal lobe and the postcentral gyrus. PMID:27999536

  18. Left, right, left, right, eyes to the front! Müller-Lyer bias in grasping is not a function of hand used, hand preferred or visual hemifield, but foveation does matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Kamp, John; de Wit, Matthieu M; Masters, Rich S W

    2012-04-01

    We investigated whether the control of movement of the left hand is more likely to involve the use of allocentric information than movements performed with the right hand. Previous studies (Gonzalez et al. in J Neurophys 95:3496-3501, 2006; De Grave et al. in Exp Br Res 193:421-427, 2009) have reported contradictory findings in this respect. In the present study, right-handed participants (N = 12) and left-handed participants (N = 12) made right- and left-handed grasps to foveated objects and peripheral, non-foveated objects that were located in the right or left visual hemifield and embedded within a Müller-Lyer illusion. They were also asked to judge the size of the object by matching their hand aperture to its length. Hand apertures did not show significant differences in illusory bias as a function of hand used, handedness or visual hemifield. However, the illusory effect was significantly larger for perception than for action, and for the non-foveated compared to foveated objects. No significant illusory biases were found for reach movement times. These findings are consistent with the two-visual system model that holds that the use of allocentric information is more prominent in perception than in movement control. We propose that the increased involvement of allocentric information in movements toward peripheral, non-foveated objects may be a consequence of more awkward, less automatized grasps of nonfoveated than foveated objects. The current study does not support the conjecture that the control of left-handed and right-handed grasps is predicated on different sources of information.

  19. Right-handed sneutrino as cold dark matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asaka, Takehiko; Ishiwata, Koji; Moroi, Takeo

    2006-01-01

    We consider supersymmetric models with right-handed neutrinos where neutrino masses are purely Dirac-type. In this model, right-handed sneutrino can be the lightest supersymmetric particle and can be a viable candidate of cold dark matter of the universe. Right-handed sneutrinos are never thermalized in the early universe because of weakness of Yukawa interaction, but are effectively produced by decays of various superparticles. We show that the present mass density of right-handed sneutrino can be consistent with the observed dark matter density

  20. Natural control capabilities of robotic hands by hand amputated subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atzori, Manfredo; Gijsberts, Arjan; Caputo, Barbara; Muller, Henning

    2014-01-01

    People with transradial hand amputations who own a myoelectric prosthesis currently have some control capabilities via sEMG. However, the control systems are still limited and not natural. The Ninapro project is aiming at helping the scientific community to overcome these limits through the creation of publicly available electromyography data sources to develop and test machine learning algorithms. In this paper we describe the movement classification results gained from three subjects with an homogeneous level of amputation, and we compare them with the results of 40 intact subjects. The number of considered subjects can seem small at first sight, but it is not considering the literature of the field (which has to face the difficulty of recruiting trans-radial hand amputated subjects). The classification is performed with four different classifiers and the obtained balanced classification rates are up to 58.6% on 50 movements, which is an excellent result compared to the current literature. Successively, for each subject we find a subset of up to 9 highly independent movements, (defined as movements that can be distinguished with more than 90% accuracy), which is a deeply innovative step in literature. The natural control of a robotic hand in so many movements could lead to an immediate progress in robotic hand prosthetics and it could deeply change the quality of life of amputated subjects.

  1. Is there any relationship between right and left hand dominance and right and left nasal airflow dominance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, A; Eccles, R

    2017-10-01

    Left- or right-handedness is a common human trait, and it has been previously reported that human nasal airflow dominance correlates with hand dominance. Any relationship between hand dominance and nasal airflow dominance would be unusual. This study aimed to measure nasal airflow and look for any relationship to handedness. The modified Glatzel mirror was used to record the dominant nasal passage at 15-minute intervals over a 6-hour period in 29 healthy participants consisting of 15 left-handers and 14 right-handers. In left-handers, the percentage of time that the left nasal passage was dominant ranged from 0 to 100 per cent. In right-handers, the percentage of time that the right nasal passage was dominant ranged from 4.2 to 95.8 per cent. No correlation between nasal airflow dominance and hand dominance was identified. The results do not support the hypothesis that nasal airflow and handedness are related.

  2. Laterality in the rubber hand illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ocklenburg, Sebastian; Rüther, Naima; Peterburs, Jutta; Pinnow, Marlies; Güntürkün, Onur

    2011-03-01

    In patient studies, impairments of sense of body ownership have repeatedly been linked to right-hemispheric brain damage. To test whether a right-hemispheric dominance for sense of body ownership could also be observed in healthy adults, the rubber hand illusion was elicited on both hands of 21 left-handers and 22 right-handers. In this illusion, a participant's real hand is stroked while hidden from view behind an occluder, and a nearby visible hand prosthesis is repeatedly stroked in synchrony. Most participants experience the illusionary perception of touch sensations arising from the prosthesis. The vividness of the illusion was measured by subjective self-reports as well as by skin conductance responses to watching the rubber hand being harmed. Handedness did not affect the vividness of the illusion, but a stronger skin conductance response was observed, when the illusion was elicited on the left hand. These findings suggest a right-hemispheric dominance for sense of body ownership in healthy adults.

  3. Beneficial effects of an investigational wristband containing Synsepalum dulcificum (miracle fruit) seed oil on the performance of hand and finger motor skills in healthy subjects: A randomized controlled preliminary study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorin, Steven; Wakeford, Charles; Zhang, Guodong; Sukamtoh, Elvira; Matteliano, Charles Joseph; Finch, Alfred Earl

    2018-02-01

    Miracle fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) seed oil (MFSO) contains phytochemicals and nutrients reported to affect musculoskeletal performance. The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of a compression wristband containing MFSO on its ability to measurably improve the hand and finger motor skills of participants. Healthy right-handed participants (n = 38) were randomized in this double-blind, placebo-controlled study of MFSO and vehicle wristbands. Subjects wore the wristband on their left hand 4-6 weeks and then only on their right hand 2-4 weeks; the contralateral untreated hand served as an additional control. Twelve hand/finger motor skills were measured using quantitative bio-instrumentation tests, and subject self-assessment questionnaires were conducted. With each hand, in 9/12 tests, the MFSO group showed a clinically meaningful average improvement compared with an average worsening in the vehicle group. Statistical superiority to the control treatment group was exhibited in 9/12 tests for each hand (p motor skills. Use of the MFSO wristband may improve an individual's manual dexterity skills and ability to maintain this performance. Copyright © 2017 The Authors Phytotherapy Research Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. A threat to a virtual hand elicits motor cortex activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Franco, Mar; Peck, Tabitha C; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; Slater, Mel

    2014-03-01

    We report an experiment where participants observed an attack on their virtual body as experienced in an immersive virtual reality (IVR) system. Participants sat by a table with their right hand resting upon it. In IVR, they saw a virtual table that was registered with the real one, and they had a virtual body that substituted their real body seen from a first person perspective. The virtual right hand was collocated with their real right hand. Event-related brain potentials were recorded in two conditions, one where the participant's virtual hand was attacked with a knife and a control condition where the knife only struck the virtual table. Significantly greater P450 potentials were obtained in the attack condition confirming our expectations that participants had a strong illusion of the virtual hand being their own, which was also strongly supported by questionnaire responses. Higher levels of subjective virtual hand ownership correlated with larger P450 amplitudes. Mu-rhythm event-related desynchronization in the motor cortex and readiness potential (C3-C4) negativity were clearly observed when the virtual hand was threatened-as would be expected, if the real hand was threatened and the participant tried to avoid harm. Our results support the idea that event-related potentials may provide a promising non-subjective measure of virtual embodiment. They also support previous experiments on pain observation and are placed into context of similar experiments and studies of body perception and body ownership within cognitive neuroscience.

  5. Search for right-handed currents in muon decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carr, J.

    The experiment is motivated by the recent interest in left-right symmetric theories based on the gauge group SU(2)sub(R) x SU(2)sub(L) x U(1). Such theories are left-right symmetric at the Lagrangian level but account for the apparently maximal parity violation at present energies by assuming that the right-handed gauge boson Wsub(R) has acquired, through spontaneous symmetry breaking, a mass larger than its left-handed counterpart Wsub(L). A search is made for deviations from maximal parity violation by observing the muon decay rate when the decay positron is emitted with momentum close to the kinematic limit and opposite to the muon spin direction. This decay rate approaches zero at the kinematic limit for purely left-handed W's (V-A) but is large for right-handed W's (V+A). From the data, bounds on the right-handed gauge boson mass and also on non-(V or A) couplings can be set. (author)

  6. INDICATORS OF MAXIMAL FLEXOR FORCE OF LEFT AND RIGHT HAND FOR THE POLICE SELECTION CRITERIA PURPOSES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milivoj Dopsaj

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available As a part of their professional responsibilities, police officers have authorization, in situation determined by law, to apply physical force or means of force. Due to given professional reasons, selection among the candidates as well as routine physical capability assessments, should have professional-methodological basis and scientific foundation. Muscle groups of particular reference in relationship to estimate general contraction characteristic in regard to force, and at the same time very easy to test are flexor muscles of fingers of the hand (test “hand squeeze”. The aim of this research is to define criterion characteristic for the population to function for selection and estimation of the hand squeeze force among policemen. This research had 723 participants, students of the Police Academy, as representatives of policemen between 19 and 24 years of age. In order to estimate force of hand grip (both right and left hand, we utilized tensiometric method, and standard procedure previously described (1. For the statistical analysis we used basic descriptive analysis, cluster analysis (defining 7 characteristic classes (clusters as a function of population tested –unacceptable, poor, below average, averaged, above average, excellent and superior, and factor analysis (definition of the selection test as a function of selection procedure (10. Our results indicate that averaged hand grip force among the tested population is 61.70±8.97 DaN (Min – Max=43.43-101.41 for left hand, and 65.11±9.34 DaN (Min – Max= 46.54-109.75 for right hand. The values for the force of defined cluster centers of left hand are: Cluster1-7=50.22, 55.76, 61.61, 67.84, 74.71, 84.02 and 97.15 DaN, and right hand are: Cluster1-7=53.40, 60.27, 66.10, 72.20, 79.70, 92.55 and 105.65 DaNFactor analysis results have shown that one factor has been isolated that accounted for 91.10 worthy variance. Regarding the individual variability, for the saturation of the isolated

  7. On Solution of Total Least Squares Problems with Multiple Right-hand Sides

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hnětynková, I.; Plešinger, Martin; Strakoš, Zdeněk

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 8, č. 1 (2008), s. 10815-10816 ISSN 1617-7061 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100300802 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : total least squares problem * multiple right-hand sides * linear approximation problem Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

  8. Hands-free administration of subjective workload scales: acceptability in a surgical training environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carswell, C Melody; Lio, Cindy H; Grant, Russell; Klein, Martina I; Clarke, Duncan; Seales, W Brent; Strup, Stephen

    2010-12-01

    Subjective workload measures are usually administered in a visual-manual format, either electronically or by paper and pencil. However, vocal responses to spoken queries may sometimes be preferable, for example when experimental manipulations require continuous manual responding or when participants have certain sensory/motor impairments. In the present study, we evaluated the acceptability of the hands-free administration of two subjective workload questionnaires - the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) and the Multiple Resources Questionnaire (MRQ) - in a surgical training environment where manual responding is often constrained. Sixty-four undergraduates performed fifteen 90-s trials of laparoscopic training tasks (five replications of 3 tasks - cannulation, ring transfer, and rope manipulation). Half of the participants provided workload ratings using a traditional paper-and-pencil version of the NASA-TLX and MRQ; the remainder used a vocal (hands-free) version of the questionnaires. A follow-up experiment extended the evaluation of the hands-free version to actual medical students in a Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) training facility. The NASA-TLX was scored in 2 ways - (1) the traditional procedure using participant-specific weights to combine its 6 subscales, and (2) a simplified procedure - the NASA Raw Task Load Index (NASA-RTLX) - using the unweighted mean of the subscale scores. Comparison of the scores obtained from the hands-free and written administration conditions yielded coefficients of equivalence of r=0.85 (NASA-TLX) and r=0.81 (NASA-RTLX). Equivalence estimates for the individual subscales ranged from r=0.78 ("mental demand") to r=0.31 ("effort"). Both administration formats and scoring methods were equally sensitive to task and repetition effects. For the MRQ, the coefficient of equivalence for the hands-free and written versions was r=0.96 when tested on undergraduates. However, the sensitivity of the hands-free MRQ to task demands (

  9. Strong signatures of right-handed compositeness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Redi, Michele [INFN, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze (Italy); Sanz, Veronica [York Univ., Toronto, ON (Canada). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Sussex Univ., Brighton (United Kingdom). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Vries, Maikel de; Weiler, Andreas [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2013-05-15

    Right-handed light quarks could be significantly composite, yet compatible with experimental searches at the LHC and precision tests on Standard Model couplings. In these scenarios, that are motivated by flavor physics, one expects large cross sections for the production of new resonances coupled to light quarks. We study experimental strong signatures of right-handed compositeness at the LHC, and constrain the parameter space of these models with recent results by ATLAS and CMS. We show that the LHC sensitivity could be significantly improved if dedicated searches were performed, in particular in multi-jet signals.

  10. Noninvasive brain stimulation for treatment of right- and left-handed poststroke aphasics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heiss, Wolf-Dieter; Hartmann, Alexander; Rubi-Fessen, Ilona; Anglade, Carole; Kracht, Lutz; Kessler, Josef; Weiduschat, Nora; Rommel, Thomas; Thiel, Alexander

    2013-01-01

    Accumulating evidence from single case studies, small case series and randomized controlled trials seems to suggest that inhibitory noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) over the contralesional inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) of right-handers in conjunction with speech and language therapy (SLT) improves recovery from poststroke aphasia. Application of inhibitory NIBS to improve recovery in left-handed patients has not yet been reported. A total of 29 right-handed subacute poststroke aphasics were randomized to receive either 10 sessions of SLT following 20 min of inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the contralesional IFG or 10 sessions of SLT following sham stimulation; 2 left-handers were treated according to the same protocol with real rTMS. Language activation patterns were assessed with positron emission tomography prior to and after the treatment; 95% confidence intervals for changes in language performance scores and the activated brain volumes in both hemispheres were derived from TMS- and sham-treated right-handed patients and compared to the same parameters in left-handers. Right-handed patients treated with rTMS showed better recovery of language function in global aphasia test scores (t test, p right-handers. In treated right-handers, a shift of activation to the ipsilesional hemisphere was observed, while sham-treated patients consolidated network activity in the contralesional hemisphere (repeated-measures ANOVA, p = 0.009). Both left-handed patients also improved, with 1 patient within the confidence limits of TMS-treated right-handers (23 points, 15.9-28.9) and the other patient within the limits of sham-treated subjects (8 points, 2.8-14.5). Both patients exhibited only a very small interhemispheric shift, much less than expected in TMS-treated right-handers, and more or less consolidated initially active networks in both hemispheres. Inhibitory rTMS over the nondominant IFG appears to be a safe and effective treatment

  11. Laterality and body ownership: Effect of handedness on experience of the rubber hand illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smit, M; Kooistra, D I; van der Ham, I J M; Dijkerman, H C

    2017-11-01

    Body ownership has mainly been linked to the right hemisphere and larger interhemispheric connectivity has been shown to be associated with greater right hemispheric activation. Mixed-handed participants tend to have more interhemispheric connectivity compared to extreme handed participants. The aim of this study was to examine whether feelings of ownership as assessed with the rubber hand illusion (RHI) are differentiated by handedness and differed between the left and right hand. Sinistrals-, dextrals-, and mixed-handed individuals (n = 63) were subjected to the RHI. Stroking was synchronously and asynchronously performed on both the participant's hand and a rubber hand. Outcome measures were an embodiment questionnaire and proprioceptive drift. In contrast to our hypotheses we show a similar experience of ownership for all groups, which may indicate no hemispheric specialization for the illusion. In addition, plasticity of ownership and body ownership are similar for the left hand and right hand in all participants, which suggests similar representations for both hands in the brain. This might be useful to maintain a coherent sense of the body in space.

  12. Modulating Memory Performance in Healthy Subjects with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Over the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirni, Daniela; Turriziani, Patrizia; Mangano, Giuseppa Renata; Cipolotti, Lisa; Oliveri, Massimiliano

    2015-01-01

    The role of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) in recognition memory has been well documented in lesion, neuroimaging and repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) studies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) over the left and the right DLPFC during the delay interval of a non-verbal recognition memory task. 36 right-handed young healthy subjects participated in the study. The experimental task was an Italian version of Recognition Memory Test for unknown faces. Study included two experiments: in a first experiment, each subject underwent one session of sham tDCS and one session of left or right cathodal tDCS; in a second experiment each subject underwent one session of sham tDCS and one session of left or right anodal tDCS. Cathodal tDCS over the right DLPFC significantly improved non verbal recognition memory performance, while cathodal tDCS over the left DLPFC had no effect. Anodal tDCS of both the left and right DLPFC did not modify non verbal recognition memory performance. Complementing the majority of previous studies, reporting long term memory facilitations following left prefrontal anodal tDCS, the present findings show that cathodal tDCS of the right DLPFC can also improve recognition memory in healthy subjects.

  13. Vision and laterality: does occlusion disclose a feedback processing advantage for the right hand system?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buekers, M J; Helsen, W F

    2000-09-01

    The main purpose of this study was to examine whether manual asymmetries could be related to the superiority of the left hemisphere/right hand system in processing visual feedback. Subjects were tested when performing single (Experiment 1) and reciprocal (Experiment 2) aiming movements under different vision conditions (full vision, 20 ms on/180 ms off, 10/90, 40/160, 20/80, 60/120, 20/40). Although in both experiments right hand advantages were found, manual asymmetries did not interact with intermittent vision conditions. Similar patterns of results were found across vision conditions for both hands. These data do not support the visual feedback processing hypothesis of manual asymmetry. Motor performance is affected to the same extent for both hand systems when vision is degraded.

  14. Physiological and subjective evaluation of a human-robot object hand-over task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dehais, Frédéric; Sisbot, Emrah Akin; Alami, Rachid; Causse, Mickaël

    2011-11-01

    In the context of task sharing between a robot companion and its human partners, the notions of safe and compliant hardware are not enough. It is necessary to guarantee ergonomic robot motions. Therefore, we have developed Human Aware Manipulation Planner (Sisbot et al., 2010), a motion planner specifically designed for human-robot object transfer by explicitly taking into account the legibility, the safety and the physical comfort of robot motions. The main objective of this research was to define precise subjective metrics to assess our planner when a human interacts with a robot in an object hand-over task. A second objective was to obtain quantitative data to evaluate the effect of this interaction. Given the short duration, the "relative ease" of the object hand-over task and its qualitative component, classical behavioral measures based on accuracy or reaction time were unsuitable to compare our gestures. In this perspective, we selected three measurements based on the galvanic skin conductance response, the deltoid muscle activity and the ocular activity. To test our assumptions and validate our planner, an experimental set-up involving Jido, a mobile manipulator robot, and a seated human was proposed. For the purpose of the experiment, we have defined three motions that combine different levels of legibility, safety and physical comfort values. After each robot gesture the participants were asked to rate them on a three dimensional subjective scale. It has appeared that the subjective data were in favor of our reference motion. Eventually the three motions elicited different physiological and ocular responses that could be used to partially discriminate them. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and the Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  15. A deep phylogeny of viral and cellular right-hand polymerases

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Černý, Jiří; Černá Bolfíková, B.; Zanotto, P. M. de A.; Grubhoffer, Libor; Růžek, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 36, 2015-Dec (2015), s. 275-286 ISSN 1567-1348 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP502/11/2116; GA ČR GA15-03044S; GA ČR GAP302/12/2490; GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.30.0032 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 278976 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Right-hand polymerase * Polymerase evolution * Virus evolution * Structural evolution * Protein tertiary structure Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 2.591, year: 2015

  16. Prevalence of Hand-transmitted Vibration Exposure among Grass-cutting Workers using Objective and Subjective Measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azmir, N. A.; Yahya, M. N.

    2017-01-01

    Extended exposure to hand-transmitted vibration from vibrating machine is associated with an increased occurrence of symptoms of occupational disease related to hand disorder. The present case study is to determine the prevalence and correlation of significant subjective as well as objective variables that induce to hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) among hand-held grass-cutting workers in Malaysia. Thus, recommendations are made for grass-cutting workers and grass maintenance service management based on findings. A cross sectional study using adopted subjective Hand Arm Vibration Exposure Risk Assessment (HAVERA) questionnaire from Vibration Injury Network on hand disorder signs and symptoms was distributed to a sample of one hundred and sixty eight male workers from grass and turf maintenance industry that use vibrating machine as part of their work. For objective measure, hand-transmitted vibration measurement was collected on site during operation by the following ISO 5349-1, 2001. Two groups were identified in this research comprising of high exposure group and low-moderate exposure group. Workers also gave information about their personal identification, social history, workers’ health, occupational history and machine safety inspection. There was positive HAVS symptoms relationship between the low-moderate exposure group and high exposure group among hand-held grass-cutting workers. The prevalence ratio (PR) was considered high for experiencing white colour change at fingers and fingers go numb which are 3.63 (1.41 to 9.39) and 4.24 (2.18 to 8.27), respectively. The estimated daily vibration exposure, A(8) differs between 2.1 to 20.7 ms-2 for right hand while 2.7 to 29.1 ms-2 for left hand. The subjects claimed that the feel of numbness at left hand is much stronger compared to right hand. The results suggest that HAVS is diagnosed in Malaysia especially in agriculture sector. The A(8) indicates that the exposure value is more than exposure limit value

  17. Test of right-handed currents in baryon semileptonic decays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, A.; Huerta, R.; Maya, M.; Perez Marcial, R.

    1985-01-01

    The effect of a right-handed boson on baryon semileptonic decay is considered. The analysis of polarized and unpolarized decays is carried out and it is shown that the best place to look for a right-handed current (RHC) signature is in polarized baryon decay. However, our results are useful for high statistics experiments. In order to see the contribution of the right-handed currents in the case of unpolarized hyperon decay, the Cabibbo theory should be assumed. (orig.)

  18. Right-handed neutrinos in F-theory compactifications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tatar, Radu; Tsuchiya, Yoichi; Watari, Taizan

    2009-01-01

    F-theory is one of the frameworks where up-type Yukawa couplings of SU(5) unified theories are naturally generated. As charged matter fields have localized zero modes in F-theory, a study of flavor structure could be easier in F-theory than in Heterotic string theory. In a study of flavor structure in the lepton sector, however, an important role is played by right-handed neutrinos, which are not charged under the SU(5) unified gauge group. It is therefore solicited to find out what right-handed neutrinos are in F-theory compactifications and how their Majorana mass terms are generated together with developing a theoretical framework where effective Yukawa couplings involving both SU(5)-neutral and charged fields can be calculated. We find that the complex structure moduli chiral multiplets of F-theory compactifications are good candidates to be right-handed neutrinos, and that their Majorana masses are automatically generated in flux compactifications. The mass scale is predicted to be somewhat below the GUT scale, which is in nice agreement with the Δm 2 of the atmospheric neutrino oscillation through the see-saw mechanism. We also discuss various scenarios of solving the dimension-4 proton decay problem in supersymmetric F-theory compactifications, along with considering the consequences of those scenarios in the nature of right-handed neutrinos.

  19. Stop decay into right-handed sneutrino LSP at hadron colliders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gouvea, Andre de; Gopalakrishna, Shrihari; Porod, Werner

    2006-01-01

    Right-handed neutrinos offer us the possibility of accommodating neutrino masses. In a supersymmetric model, this implies the existence of right-handed sneutrinos. Right-handed sneutrinos are expected to be as light as other supersymmetric particles if the neutrinos are Dirac fermions or if the lepton-number breaking scale is at (or below) the supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking scale, assumed to be around the electroweak scale. Depending on the mechanism of SUSY breaking, the lightest right-handed sneutrino may be the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). We consider the unique hadron collider signatures of a weak scale right-handed sneutrino LSP, assuming R-parity conservation. For concreteness, we concentrate on stop pair-production and decay at the Tevatron and the Large Hadron Collider, and briefly comment on the production and decay of other supersymmetric particles

  20. Right-handed quark mixings in minimal left-right symmetric model with general CP violation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yue; Ji Xiangdong; An Haipeng; Mohapatra, R. N.

    2007-01-01

    We solve systematically for the right-handed quark mixings in the minimal left-right symmetric model which generally has both explicit and spontaneous CP violations. The leading-order result has the same hierarchical structure as the left-handed Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa mixing, but with additional CP phases originating from a spontaneous CP-violating phase in the Higgs vacuum expectation values. We explore the phenomenology entailed by the new right-handed mixing matrix, particularly the bounds on the mass of W R and the CP phase of the Higgs vacuum expectation values

  1. 32 CFR 935.131 - Right-hand side of the road.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Right-hand side of the road. 935.131 Section 935... INSULAR REGULATIONS WAKE ISLAND CODE Motor Vehicle Code § 935.131 Right-hand side of the road. Each person driving a motor vehicle on Wake Island shall drive on the right-hand side of the road, except where...

  2. Renormalisation group analysis of single right-handed neutrino dominance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, S.F.; Nimai Singh, N.

    2000-01-01

    We perform a renormalisation group (RG) analysis of neutrino masses and mixing angles in the see-saw mechanism in the minimal supersymmetric standard model with three right-handed neutrinos, including the effects of the heavy neutrino thresholds. We focus on the case that one of the right-handed neutrinos provides the dominant contribution to the 23 block of the light Majorana matrix, causing its determinant to approximately vanish and giving an automatic neutrino mass hierarchy, so-called single right-handed neutrino dominance which may arise from a U(1) family symmetry. In these models radiative corrections can increase atmospheric and solar neutrino mixing by up to about 10% and 5%, respectively, and may help to achieve bi-maximal mixing. Significantly we find that the radiative corrections over the heavy neutrino threshold region are at least as important as those usually considered from the lightest right-handed neutrino down to low energies

  3. Two complementary approaches to right-handed currents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gemmler, Katrin M.

    2012-01-01

    Flavour observables impose strong constraints on models of new physics. We study whether right-handed currents can provide a realistic extension to the Standard Model. We analyse two complementary models. These setups lead to new flavour violating interactions in the right-handed sector. We first consider a bottom-up approach assuming a left-right symmetric flavour group broken only by the Yukawa couplings. In this model the vertical stroke V ub vertical stroke problem can be solved. Secondly we study the Left-Right Model. We perform a comprehensive numerical analysis, including all known experimental constraints from ΔF=2 observables and the decay B →X s γ simultaneously. We observe that there exist regions in parameter space in accordance with the all data. In this model all flavour anomalies can be resolved except the vertical stroke V ub vertical stroke problem.

  4. Flavor physics and right-handed models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shafaq, Saba

    2010-08-20

    The Standard Model of particle physics only provides a parametrization of flavor which involves the values of the quark and lepton masses and unitary flavor mixing matrix i.e. CKM (Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Masakawa) matrix for quarks. The precise determination of elements of the CKM matrix is important for the study of the flavor sector of quarks. Here we concentrate on the matrix element vertical stroke V{sub cb} vertical stroke. In particular we consider the effects on the value of vertical stroke V{sub cb} vertical stroke from possible right-handed admixtures along with the usually left-handed weak currents. Left Right Symmetric Model provide a natural basis for right-handed current contributions and has been studied extensively in the literature but has never been discussed including flavor. In the first part of the present work an additional flavor symmetry is included in LRSM which allows a systematic study of flavor effects. The second part deals with the practical extraction of a possible right-handed contribution. Starting from the quark level transition b{yields}c we use heavy quark symmetries to relate the helicities of the quarks to experimentally accessible quantities. To this end we study the decays anti B{yields}D(D{sup *})l anti {nu} which have been extensively explored close to non recoil point. By taking into account SCET (Soft Collinear Effective Theory) formalism it has been extended to a maximum recoil point i.e. {upsilon} . {upsilon}{sup '} >>1. We derive a factorization formula, where the set of form factors is reduced to a single universal form factor {xi}({upsilon} . {upsilon}{sup '}) up to hard-scattering corrections. Symmetry relations on form factors for exclusive anti B {yields} D(D{sup *})l anti {nu} transition has been derived in terms of {xi}({upsilon} . {upsilon}{sup '}). These symmetries are then broken by perturbative effects. The perturbative corrections to symmetry-breaking corrections to first order in the strong

  5. Two complementary approaches to right-handed currents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gemmler, Katrin M.

    2012-04-17

    Flavour observables impose strong constraints on models of new physics. We study whether right-handed currents can provide a realistic extension to the Standard Model. We analyse two complementary models. These setups lead to new flavour violating interactions in the right-handed sector. We first consider a bottom-up approach assuming a left-right symmetric flavour group broken only by the Yukawa couplings. In this model the vertical stroke V{sub ub} vertical stroke problem can be solved. Secondly we study the Left-Right Model. We perform a comprehensive numerical analysis, including all known experimental constraints from {Delta}F=2 observables and the decay B {yields}X{sub s}{gamma} simultaneously. We observe that there exist regions in parameter space in accordance with the all data. In this model all flavour anomalies can be resolved except the vertical stroke V{sub ub} vertical stroke problem.

  6. Can Constraint Induced Movement Therapy Improve In-Hand Manipulation Skills: A Single Subject Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Somaye Kavousipor

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: This study describes a single subject design (ABA that shows the effective use of constraint induced movement therapy in improvement of quality and performance of in-hand manipulation skills for a 10 year old boy and a 9 years old girl with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, as Dickerson (2007 showed it in arm movement and function. Methods: To determine the effectiveness of CIMT by the use of C-statistic analysis and visual analysis. Approach: The first step was to design a child friendly group activity and home based intervention program through occupation. The possible effectiveness of CIMT was evaluated by daily measurements and video recording of 6 sub skills of in-hand manipulation according to Pont category (2009 in defined activity. Results: For making the treatment more cost effective, families can produce a simple clinical setting at home and participate in their child treatment plan actively. Discussion: A client center intervention will facilitate the use and quality of fingers and hand motion. Also a group activity can motivate participants to participate more and better.

  7. Search for right-handed currents in muon decay: final results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strovink, M.

    1986-01-01

    Final results from the Berkeley-Northwestern-TRIUMF muon decay experiment are summarized. If right-handed neutrinos are less massive than ∼ 6 MeV, the mass of a possible right-handed W 2 must exceed 514 GeV (with no mixing of left- and right-handed gauge bosons), or 432 GeV (with any mixing). Stringent limits are also set on left-right mixing, on non-V,A components of charged weak interactions, and on the energy scales for lepton compositeness and family symmetry breaking. 10 refs.; 5 figs

  8. Pure alexia after right temporo-occipital hemorrhage in a right-handed female

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Buse Rahime Hasırcı

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Alexia without agraphia is a rare clinical disorder which is characterized by impairment of reading in spite of protection of writing ability. It usually results from infarction within the vascular territory of the posterior cerebral artery. The lesions of left occipital lobe or splenium of corpus callosum can cause alexia without agraphia by the deterioration of connection between the right occipital lobe and left parietal lobe. We describe the case of a 70-year-old right-handed woman who was presented with moderate headache and blurred vision and affected by alexia without agraphia and aphasia. Our case indicates that pure alexia may arise as a consequence of damage to the right hemisphere in right-handed patients and may lead to a severe reading disorder, as in individuals with left-hemisphere dominance for language.

  9. An ϵ' improvement from right-handed currents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cirigliano, Vincenzo; Dekens, Wouter Gerard; Vries, Jordy de; Mereghetti, Emanuele

    2017-01-01

    Recent lattice QCD calculations of direct CP violation in K L → ππ decays indicate tension with the experimental results. Assuming this tension to be real, we investigate a possible beyond-the-Standard Model explanation via right-handed charged currents. By using chiral perturbation theory in combination with lattice QCD results, we accurately calculate the modification of ϵ'/ϵ induced by right-handed charged currents and extract values of the couplings that are necessary to explain the discrepancy, pointing to a scale around 10–100 TeV. We find that couplings of this size are not in conflict with constraints from other precision experiments, but next-generation hadronic electric dipole moment searches (such as neutron and 225 Ra) can falsify this scenario. As a result, we work out in detail a direct link, based on chiral perturbation theory, between CP violation in the kaon sector and electric dipole moments induced by right-handed currents which can be used in future analyses of left-right symmetric models.

  10. Changing the size of a mirror-reflected hand moderates the experience of embodiment but not proprioceptive drift: a repeated measures study on healthy human participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittkopf, Priscilla G; Lloyd, Donna M; Johnson, Mark I

    2017-06-01

    Mirror visual feedback is used for reducing pain and visually distorting the size of the reflection may improve efficacy. The findings of studies investigating size distortion are inconsistent. The influence of the size of the reflected hand on embodiment of the mirror reflection is not known. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of magnifying and minifying mirror reflections of the hand on embodiment measured using an eight-item questionnaire and on proprioceptive drift. During the experiment, participants (n = 45) placed their right hand behind a mirror and their left hand in front of a mirror. Participants watched a normal-sized, a magnified and a minified reflection of the left hand while performing synchronised finger movements for 3 min (adaptive phase). Measurements of embodiment were taken before (pre) and after (post) synchronous movements of the fingers of both hands (embodiment adaptive phase). Results revealed larger proprioceptive drift post-adaptive phase (p = 0.001). Participants agreed more strongly with questionnaire items associated with location, ownership and agency of the reflection of the hand post-adaptive phase (p embodiment of the reflection of the hand. Magnifying and minifying the reflection of the hand has little effect on proprioceptive drift, but it weakens the subjective embodiment experience. Such factors need to be taken into account in future studies using this technique, particularly when assessing mirror visual feedback for pain management.

  11. Confining model with composite left-handed and unconfined right-handed particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bordi, F.; Gatto, R.; Dominici, D.; Florence Univ.

    1982-01-01

    We present a fermionic composite model in which left-handed quarks and leptons transform as bound states of three elementary fermions confined under a subcolor gauge group whereas their right-handed partners are unconfined singlets. All the elementary fermions, confined or unconfined, are classified into a single spinor representation. A mass-mechanism, originating from the breaking of the spinor representation, gives masses to the quarks and leptons, originally massless from the anomaly conditions. A natural mechanism arises for the neutrino mass matrix. (orig.)

  12. Phenomenology of the gauge symmetry for right-handed fermions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao, Wei

    2018-02-01

    In this paper we investigate the phenomenology of the U(1) gauge symmetry for right-handed fermions, where three right-handed neutrinos are introduced for anomalies cancellations. Constraints on the new gauge boson Z_{R} from Z-Z^' mixing as well as the upper bound of Z^' production cross section in di-lepton channel at the LHC are presented. We further study the neutrino mass and the phenomenology of Z_{R}-portal dark matter in this model. The lightest right-handed neutrino can be the cold dark matter candidate stabilized by a Z_2 flavor symmetry. Our study shows that active neutrino masses can be generated via the modified type-II seesaw mechanism; right-handed neutrino is available dark matter candidate for its mass being very heavy, or for its mass at near the resonant regime of the SM Higgs and(or) the new bosons; constraint from the dilepton search at the LHC is stronger than that from the Z-Z^' mixing only for g_{R}<0.121, where g_{R} is the new gauge coupling.

  13. Forms of Political Participation and Subjective Well-being: A World Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamín Temkin

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Subjective well-being has been described as perhaps “the ultimate dependent variable” of the social sciences. Thus, it is understandable that much of the empirical research on the subject has focused on the identification of its correlates. In this paper we utilize the sixth wave of the World Value Survey carried out in sixty countries between 2010 and 2014, to evaluate the relationship between different types of political participation and the subjective well-being of citizens, Our research partially confirms the hypothesis that, when controlling for the democratic or undemocratic character of political institutions, conventional political participation is positively and significantly associated with life satisfaction, while unconventional conflictive political activities show the opposite relationship to well-being. On the other hand, the democratic nature of state institutions is universally and consistently related to higher levels of personal well-being among individuals.

  14. Phenomenology of the gauge symmetry for right-handed fermions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chao, Wei [Beijing Normal University, Center for Advanced Quantum Studies, Department of Physics, Beijing (China)

    2018-02-15

    In this paper we investigate the phenomenology of the U(1) gauge symmetry for right-handed fermions, where three right-handed neutrinos are introduced for anomalies cancellations. Constraints on the new gauge boson Z{sub R} from Z-Z{sup '} mixing as well as the upper bound of Z{sup '} production cross section in di-lepton channel at the LHC are presented. We further study the neutrino mass and the phenomenology of Z{sub R}-portal dark matter in this model. The lightest right-handed neutrino can be the cold dark matter candidate stabilized by a Z{sub 2} flavor symmetry. Our study shows that active neutrino masses can be generated via the modified type-II seesaw mechanism; right-handed neutrino is available dark matter candidate for its mass being very heavy, or for its mass at near the resonant regime of the SM Higgs and(or) the new bosons; constraint from the dilepton search at the LHC is stronger than that from the Z-Z{sup '} mixing only for g{sub R} < 0.121, where g{sub R} is the new gauge coupling. (orig.)

  15. Right-handed neutrinos and T-violating, P-conserving interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Basem Kamal El-Menoufi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available We show that experimental probes of the P-conserving, T-violating triple correlation in polarized neutron or nuclear β-decay provide a unique probe of possible T-violation at the TeV scale in the presence of right-handed neutrinos. In contrast to other possible sources of semileptonic T-violation involving only left-handed neutrinos, those involving right-handed neutrinos are relatively unconstrained by present limits on the permanent electric dipole moments of the electron, neutral atoms, and the neutron. On the other hand, LHC results for pp→e+ missing transverse energy imply that an order of magnitude of improvement in D-coefficient sensitivity would be needed for discovery. Finally, we discuss the interplay with the scale of neutrino mass and naturalness considerations.

  16. Rubber Hands Feel Touch, but Not in Blind Individuals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrsson, H. Henrik

    2012-01-01

    Psychology and neuroscience have a long-standing tradition of studying blind individuals to investigate how visual experience shapes perception of the external world. Here, we study how blind people experience their own body by exposing them to a multisensory body illusion: the somatic rubber hand illusion. In this illusion, healthy blindfolded participants experience that they are touching their own right hand with their left index finger, when in fact they are touching a rubber hand with their left index finger while the experimenter touches their right hand in a synchronized manner (Ehrsson et al. 2005). We compared the strength of this illusion in a group of blind individuals (n = 10), all of whom had experienced severe visual impairment or complete blindness from birth, and a group of age-matched blindfolded sighted participants (n = 12). The illusion was quantified subjectively using questionnaires and behaviorally by asking participants to point to the felt location of the right hand. The results showed that the sighted participants experienced a strong illusion, whereas the blind participants experienced no illusion at all, a difference that was evident in both tests employed. A further experiment testing the participants' basic ability to localize the right hand in space without vision (proprioception) revealed no difference between the two groups. Taken together, these results suggest that blind individuals with impaired visual development have a more veridical percept of self-touch and a less flexible and dynamic representation of their own body in space compared to sighted individuals. We speculate that the multisensory brain systems that re-map somatosensory signals onto external reference frames are less developed in blind individuals and therefore do not allow efficient fusion of tactile and proprioceptive signals from the two upper limbs into a single illusory experience of self-touch as in sighted individuals. PMID:22558268

  17. Rubber hands feel touch, but not in blind individuals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valeria I Petkova

    Full Text Available Psychology and neuroscience have a long-standing tradition of studying blind individuals to investigate how visual experience shapes perception of the external world. Here, we study how blind people experience their own body by exposing them to a multisensory body illusion: the somatic rubber hand illusion. In this illusion, healthy blindfolded participants experience that they are touching their own right hand with their left index finger, when in fact they are touching a rubber hand with their left index finger while the experimenter touches their right hand in a synchronized manner (Ehrsson et al. 2005. We compared the strength of this illusion in a group of blind individuals (n = 10, all of whom had experienced severe visual impairment or complete blindness from birth, and a group of age-matched blindfolded sighted participants (n = 12. The illusion was quantified subjectively using questionnaires and behaviorally by asking participants to point to the felt location of the right hand. The results showed that the sighted participants experienced a strong illusion, whereas the blind participants experienced no illusion at all, a difference that was evident in both tests employed. A further experiment testing the participants' basic ability to localize the right hand in space without vision (proprioception revealed no difference between the two groups. Taken together, these results suggest that blind individuals with impaired visual development have a more veridical percept of self-touch and a less flexible and dynamic representation of their own body in space compared to sighted individuals. We speculate that the multisensory brain systems that re-map somatosensory signals onto external reference frames are less developed in blind individuals and therefore do not allow efficient fusion of tactile and proprioceptive signals from the two upper limbs into a single illusory experience of self-touch as in sighted individuals.

  18. Rubber hands feel touch, but not in blind individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petkova, Valeria I; Zetterberg, Hedvig; Ehrsson, H Henrik

    2012-01-01

    Psychology and neuroscience have a long-standing tradition of studying blind individuals to investigate how visual experience shapes perception of the external world. Here, we study how blind people experience their own body by exposing them to a multisensory body illusion: the somatic rubber hand illusion. In this illusion, healthy blindfolded participants experience that they are touching their own right hand with their left index finger, when in fact they are touching a rubber hand with their left index finger while the experimenter touches their right hand in a synchronized manner (Ehrsson et al. 2005). We compared the strength of this illusion in a group of blind individuals (n = 10), all of whom had experienced severe visual impairment or complete blindness from birth, and a group of age-matched blindfolded sighted participants (n = 12). The illusion was quantified subjectively using questionnaires and behaviorally by asking participants to point to the felt location of the right hand. The results showed that the sighted participants experienced a strong illusion, whereas the blind participants experienced no illusion at all, a difference that was evident in both tests employed. A further experiment testing the participants' basic ability to localize the right hand in space without vision (proprioception) revealed no difference between the two groups. Taken together, these results suggest that blind individuals with impaired visual development have a more veridical percept of self-touch and a less flexible and dynamic representation of their own body in space compared to sighted individuals. We speculate that the multisensory brain systems that re-map somatosensory signals onto external reference frames are less developed in blind individuals and therefore do not allow efficient fusion of tactile and proprioceptive signals from the two upper limbs into a single illusory experience of self-touch as in sighted individuals.

  19. Thermal right-handed sneutrino dark matter with a singlet Higgs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cerdeno, David G.

    2009-01-01

    We report on a model in which the right-handed sneutrino is a viable WIMP dark matter candidate. It consists on an extension of the MSSM with a singlet S with coupling SH 1 H 2 in order to solve the μ problem as in the NMSSM, and right-handed neutrinos N with couplings SNN in order to generate dynamically electroweak-scale Majorana masses. Through the direct coupling to the singlet, the sneutrino can not only be thermally produced in the right amount but also have a large enough scattering cross section with nuclei to detect it directly in near future, in contrast with most of other right-handed sneutrino dark matter models.

  20. [Left- or right-handed: the effect of a preferential use of one hand or the other on dental hygiene].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eleveld, C A; Schuller, A A

    2016-02-01

    A research project investigated the extent to which a preferential use of one hand or the other has an effect on dental hygiene on the left or right side of the mouth. The study made use of epidemiological dental-care data from the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research and of data from a dental practice specifically collected for this project. The results revealed that among a population which is 85-90% right-handed, statistically significantly more dental plaque was found on the right side of the mouth than on the left. A separate study revealed the prevalence of statistically significantly more dental plaque on the right side than on the left among right-handed people and, among left-handed people, a non-statistically significant trend of more dental plaque on the left than the right. It is concluded that dental hygiene on the left side and the right side of the mouth is very likely to be dependent on the preferential use of one hand or the other. The differences between the left side of the mouth and right among left- and right-handed people are, however, so small that it is questionable whether these should be taken into consideration in giving instructions about dental hygiene.

  1. Political Left and Right: Our Hands-On Logic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frits Bienfait

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The origins and immediate vitality of the left/right divide which emerged in French revolutionary politics from 1789 can only be understood against the background of a much older classification dynamic based on the primacy of the right hand, first described by Robert Hertz in 1909. This dynamic infused political thinking first in Versailles and since 1815 in democracies throughout the world. In the process, the classical left/right polarity acquired a new dimension: the complementary notions of ‘accepting’ and ‘questioning’ the existing social order. An essential feature of both the age-old classical polarity and the ensuing political polarity is that they are intimately bound up with local and evolving social contexts: there is no single content-based definition of left and right. As long as the majority of us are predisposed to use our right hand when acting in the world, ‘left versus right’ will remain the most important political antithesis in western-type democracies.

  2. Eye-hand laterality and right thoracic idiopathic scoliosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catanzariti, Jean-François; Guyot, Marc-Alexandre; Agnani, Olivier; Demaille, Samantha; Kolanowski, Elisabeth; Donze, Cécile

    2014-06-01

    The adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) pathogenesis remains unknown. Certain studies have shown that there is a correlation between manual laterality and scoliotic deviation. A full study of manual laterality needs to be paired with one for visual dominance. With the aim of physiopathological research, we have evaluated the manual and visual laterality in AIS. A retrospective study from prospective data collection is used to evaluate the distribution of eye-hand laterality (homogeneous or crossed) of 65 right thoracic AIS (mean age 14.8 ± 1.8 years; mean Cobb angle: 32.8°) and a control group of 65 sex and age-matched (mean age 14.6 ± 1.8 years). The manual laterality was defined by the modified Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. The evaluation of the visual laterality is done using three tests (kaleidoscope test, hole-in-the-card test, distance-hole-in-the-card test). The group of right thoracic AIS presents a significantly higher frequency of crossed eye-hand laterality (63 %) than the control group (63 vs. 29.2 %; p laterality is "right hand dominant-left eye dominant" (82.9 %). There is no relationship with the Cobb angle. Those with right thoracic AIS show a higher occurrence of crossed eye-hand laterality. This could point physiopathological research of AIS towards functional abnormality of the optic chiasma through underuse of cross visual pathways, and in particular accessory optic pathways. It would be useful to explore this by carrying out research on AISs through neuroimaging and neurofunctional exploration.

  3. Search for a Heavy Right-Handed W Boson and Heavy Right-Handed Neutrino of the Left-Right Symmetric Extension of the Standard Theory

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00345539

    A search for a heavy right-handed $W_{R}$ boson, and heavy right-handed neutrinos $N_{\\ell}$ ($\\ell = e, \\mu$) performed by the CMS experiment is summarized here. Using the 2.6 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the CMS experiment in 2015 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, this search seeks evidence of a $W_{R}$ boson and $N_{\\ell}$ neutrinos in events with two leptons and two jets. The data do not significantly exceed expected backgrounds, and are consistent with expected results of the Standard Theory given uncertainties. For Standard Theory extensions with strict left-right symmetry, and assuming only one $N_{\\ell}$ flavor contributes significantly to the $W_{R}$ decay width, mass limits are set in the two-dimensional $(M_{W_{R}}, M_{N_{\\ell}})$ plane at 95\\% confidence level. The limits extend to a $W_{R}$ mass of 3.3 TeV in the electron channel and 3.5 TeV in the muon channel, and span a wide range of $M_{N_{\\ell}}$ masses below $M_{W_{R}}$.

  4. Solvability of the Core Problem with Multiple Right-Hand Sides in the TLS Sense

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hnětynková, Iveta; Plešinger, M.; Sima, D.M.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 37, č. 3 (2016), s. 861-876 ISSN 0895-4798 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-06684S Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : total least squares (TLS) problem * multiple right-hand sides * core problem * linear approximation problem * error-in-variables modeling * orthogonal regression * classical TLS algorithm Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 2.194, year: 2016

  5. Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies among Left and RightHanded Students: Gender and Month of Birth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H Zare

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Background & aim: Understanding the brain-behavior relationships based on gender and individual indifferences provide recommendations for more effective educational and behavioral interventions. This study was designed to compare cognitive emotion regulation strategies in left and righthanded students with the emphasis on gender and month of birth. Methods: This descriptive-comparative causal study was performed on 597 (309 girls, 288, boys high school students. Samples were chosen by cluster sampling method. Subjects completed two scales: Chapman handedness inventory and Garnefski cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Data were analyzed using t-test, Goodness of fit and Chi Square test. Results: The left handed students were reported to use rumination strategy more than right handed students, while the mean score of right handed students in refocus on planning strategy was higher than left handed students, which was statistically significant (P<0.05. Data showed that higher prevalence of left handedness in boys than girls, and results did not provide support for month of birth role on handedness. Conclusion: The results of this study provide another support for the role of lateralization in emotion regulation. The findings also have implication for designed intervention programs focused on cognitive emotion regulation strategies.

  6. Search for right-handed currents in muon decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gobbi, B.

    1983-01-01

    We report preliminary results of an experiment designed to measure the mass of the right-handed intermediate vector boson. The presence of such a particle in electroweak interactions is predicted by left-right symmetric gauge theories. The experiment measures the momentum spectrum of the positrons from the decay at rest of (1) longitudinally polarized muons produced in the decay at rest of π + → μ + nu (polarization P/sub μ/) and (2) unpolarized muons. The endpoints of these two spectra are used to determine the quantity xi P/sub μ/ where xi is a Michel parameter. This product is related to the ratio of the mass of left and right handed W and to the phase between the two helicity states. We measure, at the 90% CL, 1 - delta/rho 380 GeV/c 2

  7. Microstructural asymmetry of the corticospinal tracts predicts right-left differences in circle drawing skill in right-handed adolescents

    OpenAIRE

    Angstmann, Steffen; Madsen, Kathrine Skak; Skimminge, Arnold; Jernigan, Terry L; Baaré, William F C; Siebner, Hartwig Roman

    2016-01-01

    © 2016, The Author(s). Most humans show a strong preference to use their right hand, but strong preference for the right hand does not necessarily imply a strong right–left asymmetry in manual proficiency (i.e., dexterity). Here we tested the hypothesis that intra-individual asymmetry of manual proficiency would be reflected in microstructural differences between the right and left corticospinal tract (CST) in a cohort of 52 right-handed typically-developing adolescents (11–16 years). Partici...

  8. Chaotic inflation and baryogenesis by right-handed sneutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murayama, H.; Suzuki, H.; Yanagida, T.; Yokoyama, J.i.

    1993-01-01

    We present a model of chaotic inflation driven by the superpartner of the right-handed neutrino (N R ). This model gives the correct magnitude of the density perturbation observed by the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite with a right-handed neutrino mass congruent 10 13 GeV, which is also preferred by the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein solution to the solar neutrino problem. The reheating process is the dacay of the coherently oscillating N R . This decay process also generates lepton asymmetry via CP violation, which will be converted to baryon asymmetry thanks to the electroweak anomaly. This model can incorporate the τ-neutrino mass congruent 10 eV

  9. Kinematic and kinetic differences between left-and right-handed professional baseball pitchers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diffendaffer, Alek Z; Fleisig, Glenn S; Ivey, Brett; Aune, Kyle T

    2018-03-21

    While 10% of the general population is left-handed, 27% of professional baseball pitchers are left-handed. Biomechanical differences between left- and right-handed college pitchers have been previously reported, but these differences have yet to be examined at the professional level. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare pitching biomechanics between left- and right-handed professional pitchers. It was hypothesised that there would be significant kinematic and kinetic differences between these two groups. Pitching biomechanics were collected on 96 left-handed pitchers and a group of 96 right-handed pitchers matched for age, height, mass and ball velocity. Student t-tests were used to identify kinematic and kinetic differences (p different between the groups. Landing position of the stride foot, trunk separation at foot contact, maximum shoulder external rotation and trunk forward tilt at ball release were all significantly greater in right-handed pitchers. The magnitude of the statistical differences found were small and not consistent with differences in the two previous, smaller studies. Thus, the differences found may be of minimal practical significance and mechanics can be taught the same to all pitchers, regardless of throwing hand.

  10. Right-handed charged currents in the era of the Large Hadron Collider

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alioli, S. [CERN Theory Division,CH-1211, Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Cirigliano, V. [Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory,Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Dekens, W. [Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory,Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos Research Park,Los Alamos, NM 87544 (United States); Vries, J. de [Nikhef, Theory Group,Science Park 105, 1098 XG, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Mereghetti, E. [Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory,Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)

    2017-05-16

    We discuss the phenomenology of right-handed charged currents in the framework of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory, in which they arise due to a single gauge-invariant dimension-six operator. We study the manifestations of the nine complex couplings of the W to right-handed quarks in collider physics, flavor physics, and low-energy precision measurements. We first obtain constraints on the couplings under the assumption that the right-handed operator is the dominant correction to the Standard Model at observable energies. We subsequently study the impact of degeneracies with other Beyond-the-Standard-Model effective interactions and identify observables, both at colliders and low-energy experiments, that would uniquely point to right-handed charged currents.

  11. An Investigation of the Differences and Similarities between Generated Small-World Networks for Right- and Left-Hand Motor Imageries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jiang; Li, Yuyao; Chen, Huafu; Ding, Jurong; Yuan, Zhen

    2016-11-04

    In this study, small-world network analysis was performed to identify the similarities and differences between functional brain networks for right- and left-hand motor imageries (MIs). First, Pearson correlation coefficients among the nodes within the functional brain networks from healthy subjects were calculated. Then, small-world network indicators, including the clustering coefficient, the average path length, the global efficiency, the local efficiency, the average node degree, and the small-world index, were generated for the functional brain networks during both right- and left-hand MIs. We identified large differences in the small-world network indicators between the functional networks during MI and in the random networks. More importantly, the functional brain networks underlying the right- and left-hand MIs exhibited similar small-world properties in terms of the clustering coefficient, the average path length, the global efficiency, and the local efficiency. By contrast, the right- and left-hand MI brain networks showed differences in small-world characteristics, including indicators such as the average node degree and the small-world index. Interestingly, our findings also suggested that the differences in the activity intensity and range, the average node degree, and the small-world index of brain networks between the right- and left-hand MIs were associated with the asymmetry of brain functions.

  12. Cerebral lateralization for the processing of spatial coordinates and categories in left-and right-handers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LAENG, B; PETERS, M

    1995-04-01

    Subjects judged whether a tachistoscopially lateralized drawing was identical or different to a drawing seen immediately before in free vision. The drawings depicted natural objects (e.g. animals). On half of the trials the tachistoscopic drawing presented the same objects but either the categorical or the coordinate spatial relations (according to Kosslyn's definitions [23]) between the objects were transformed. In the first experiment 38 right-handed subjects (half males and half females) were tested. Categorical judgements were faster when the match drawing appeared in the right visual field, whereas coordinate judgements were faster when the match drawing appeared in the left visual field. In the second experiment 26 right-handed and 40 left-handed subjects participated. Almost all the subjects were female. Right-handed subjects replicated the findings of the subjects in the first experiment. However, the LHs did not show any difference in response times between spatial conditions and visual fields. These findings support Kosslyn's hypothesis that the left and right hemispheres are specialized respectively for processing categorical and coordinate spatial relations. Moreover, they also suggest that this lateralization pattern is not typical of left-handers.

  13. Cerebral and cerebellar language organization in a right-handed subject with a left temporal porencephalic cyst : An fMRI study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Coninck, Mattias; Van Hecke, Wim; Crols, Roe; van Dun, Kim; Van Dam, Debby; De Deyn, Peter P.; Brysbaert, Marc; Marien, Peter

    To test the hypothesis of crossed cerebro-cerebellar language dominance (Marien, Engelborghs, Fabbro, & De Deyn, 2001) in atypical populations, the pattern of cerebral and cerebellar language organization in a right-handed woman with a large porencephalic cyst in the left temporal lobe with no

  14. Hadronic EDMs in SUSY SU(5) GUTs with right-handed neutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hisano, Junji; Kakizaki, Mitsuru; Nagai, Minoru; Shimizu, Yasuhiro

    2004-01-01

    We discuss hadronic EDM constraints on the neutrino sector in the SUSY SU(5) GUT with the right-handed neutrinos. The hadronic EDMs are sensitive to the right-handed down-type squark mixings, especially between the second and third generations and between the first and third ones, compared with the other low-energy hadronic observables, and the flavor mixings are induced by the neutrino Yukawa interaction. The current experimental bound of the neutron EDM may imply that the right-handed tau neutrino mass is smaller than about 10 14 GeV in the minimal supergravity scenario, and it may be improved furthermore in future experiments, such as the deuteron EDM measurement

  15. Classification of right-hand grasp movement based on EMOTIV Epoc+

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tobing, T. A. M. L.; Prawito, Wijaya, S. K.

    2017-07-01

    Combinations of BCT elements for right-hand grasp movement have been obtained, providing the average value of their classification accuracy. The aim of this study is to find a suitable combination for best classification accuracy of right-hand grasp movement based on EEG headset, EMOTIV Epoc+. There are three movement classifications: grasping hand, relax, and opening hand. These classifications take advantage of Event-Related Desynchronization (ERD) phenomenon that makes it possible to differ relaxation, imagery, and movement state from each other. The combinations of elements are the usage of Independent Component Analysis (ICA), spectrum analysis by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), maximum mu and beta power with their frequency as features, and also classifier Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) and Radial Basis Function (RBF). The average values of classification accuracy are ± 83% for training and ± 57% for testing. To have a better understanding of the signal quality recorded by EMOTIV Epoc+, the result of classification accuracy of left or right-hand grasping movement EEG signal (provided by Physionet) also be given, i.e.± 85% for training and ± 70% for testing. The comparison of accuracy value from each combination, experiment condition, and external EEG data are provided for the purpose of value analysis of classification accuracy.

  16. Hand-assisted right laparoscopic nephrectomy in living donor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Meyer

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To assess results obtained with the authors' technique of right hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy in living kidney donors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 16 kidney donors who underwent hand-assisted right laparoscopic nephrectomy from February 2001 to July 2004. Among these patients, 7 were male and 9 were female, with mean age ranging between 22 and 58 years (mean 35.75. RESULTS: Surgical time ranged from 55 to 210 minutes (mean 127.81 min and warm ischemia time from 2 to 6 minutes (mean 3.78 min with mean intra-operative blood loss estimated at 90.62 mL. There was no need for conversion in any case. Discharge from hospital occurred between the 3rd and 6th days (mean 3.81. On the graft assessment, immediate diuresis was seen in 15 cases (93.75% and serum creatinine on the 7th post-operative day was 1.60 mg/dL on average. Renal vein thrombosis occurred in 1 patient (6.25% who required graft removal, and lymphocele was seen in 1 recipient (6.25%. CONCLUSION: Hand-assisted right laparoscopic nephrectomy in living donors is a safe and effective alternative to open nephrectomy. Despite a greater technical difficulty, the procedure presented low postoperative morbidity providing good morphological and functional quality of the graft on the recipient.

  17. Political Left and Right: Our Hands-On Logic

    OpenAIRE

    Frits Bienfait; Walter E. A. van Beek

    2014-01-01

    The origins and immediate vitality of the left/right divide which emerged in French revolutionary politics from 1789 can only be understood against the background of a much older classification dynamic based on the primacy of the right hand, first described by Robert Hertz in 1909. This dynamic infused political thinking first in Versailles and since 1815 in democracies throughout the world. In the process, the classical left/right polarity acquired a new dimension: the complementary notions ...

  18. Using pliers in assembly work: short and long task duration effects of gloves on hand performance capabilities and subjective assessments of discomfort and ease of tool manipulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dianat, Iman; Haslegrave, Christine M; Stedmon, Alex W

    2012-03-01

    The present study investigated the effects of wearing typical industrial gloves on hand performance capabilities (muscle activity, wrist posture, touch sensitivity, hand grip and forearm torque strength) and subjective assessments for an extended duration of performing a common assembly task, wire tying with pliers, which requires a combination of manipulation and force exertion. Three commercially available gloves (cotton, nylon and nitrile gloves) were tested and compared with a bare hand condition while participants performed the simulated assembly task for 2 h. The results showed that wearing gloves significantly increased the muscle activity, wrist deviation, and discomfort whilst reducing hand grip strength, forearm torque strength and touch sensitivity. The combined results showed that the length of time for which gloves are worn does affect hand performance capability and that gloves need to be evaluated in a realistic working context. The results are discussed in terms of selection of gloves for industrial assembly tasks involving pliers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  19. Component formulae for hadroproduction of left- and right-handed squarks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baer, H.; Tata, X.

    1985-01-01

    We present differential cross section formulae for left-left, right-right, and left-right squark pair production in hadronic collisions, for unequal left- and right-handed squark masses. These formulae are useful in calculations involving weak decays of squarks to winos and zinos. (orig.)

  20. Explicit knowledge about the availability of visual feedback affects grasping with the left but not the right hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Rixin; Whitwell, Robert L; Goodale, Melvyn A

    2014-01-01

    Previous research (Whitwell et al. in Exp Brain Res 188:603-611, 2008; Whitwell and Goodale in Exp Brain Res 194:619-629, 2009) has shown that trial history, but not anticipatory knowledge about the presence or absence of visual feedback on an upcoming trial, plays a vital role in determining how that feedback is exploited when grasping with the right hand. Nothing is known about how the non-dominant left hand behaves under the same feedback regimens. In present study, therefore, we compared peak grip aperture (PGA) for left- and right-hand grasps executed with and without visual feedback (i.e., closed- vs. open-loop conditions) in right-handed individuals under three different trial schedules: the feedback conditions were blocked separately, they were randomly interleaved, or they were alternated. When feedback conditions were blocked, the PGA was much larger for open-loop trials as compared to closed-loop trials, although this difference was more pronounced for right-hand grasps than left-hand grasps. Like Whitwell et al., we found that mixing open- and closed-loop trials together, compared to blocking them separately, homogenized the PGA for open- and closed-loop grasping in the right hand (i.e., the PGAs became smaller on open-loop trials and larger on closed-loop trials). In addition, the PGAs for right-hand grasps were entirely determined by trial history and not by knowledge of whether or not visual feedback would be available on an upcoming trial. In contrast to grasps made with the right hand, grasps made by the left hand were affected both by trial history and by anticipatory knowledge of the upcoming visual feedback condition. But these effects were observed only on closed-loop trials, i.e., the PGAs of grasps made with the left hand on closed-loop trials were smaller when participants could anticipate the availability of feedback on an upcoming trial (alternating trials) than when they could not (randomized trials). In contrast, grasps made with the

  1. Search for right-handed neutrinos from dark matter annihilation with gamma-rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Campos, Miguel D.; Queiroz, Farinaldo S.; Yaguna, Carlos E. [Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Weniger, Christoph, E-mail: miguel.campos@mpi-hd.mpg.de, E-mail: farinaldo.queiroz@mpi-hd.mpg.de, E-mail: carlos.yaguna@uptc.edu.co, E-mail: c.weniger@uva.nl [GRAPPA, Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1090 GL Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2017-07-01

    Several extensions of the Standard Model contain right-handed (sterile) neutrinos in the GeV-TeV mass range. Due to their mixing with the active neutrinos, they may give rise to novel effects in cosmology, neutrino physics, and collider searches. In addition, right-handed neutrinos can also appear as final states from dark matter annihilations, with important implications for dark matter indirect detection searches. In this paper, we use current data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (6-year observation of dwarf spheroidal galaxies) and H.E.S.S. (10-year observation of the Galactic center) to constrain the annihilation of dark matter into right-handed neutrinos. We consider right-handed neutrino with masses between 10 GeV and 1 TeV, including both two-body and three-body decays, to derive bounds on the dark matter annihilation rate, ( σ v ), as a function of the dark matter mass. Our results show, in particular, that the thermal dark matter annihilation cross section, 3× 10{sup −26} cm{sup 3} s {sup −1} , into right-handed neutrinos is excluded for dark matter masses smaller than 200 GeV.

  2. Search for right-handed neutrinos from dark matter annihilation with gamma-rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campos, Miguel D.; Queiroz, Farinaldo S.; Yaguna, Carlos E.; Weniger, Christoph

    2017-01-01

    Several extensions of the Standard Model contain right-handed (sterile) neutrinos in the GeV-TeV mass range. Due to their mixing with the active neutrinos, they may give rise to novel effects in cosmology, neutrino physics, and collider searches. In addition, right-handed neutrinos can also appear as final states from dark matter annihilations, with important implications for dark matter indirect detection searches. In this paper, we use current data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (6-year observation of dwarf spheroidal galaxies) and H.E.S.S. (10-year observation of the Galactic center) to constrain the annihilation of dark matter into right-handed neutrinos. We consider right-handed neutrino with masses between 10 GeV and 1 TeV, including both two-body and three-body decays, to derive bounds on the dark matter annihilation rate, ( σ v ), as a function of the dark matter mass. Our results show, in particular, that the thermal dark matter annihilation cross section, 3× 10 −26 cm 3 s −1 , into right-handed neutrinos is excluded for dark matter masses smaller than 200 GeV.

  3. Double beta decay and majorana neutrinos. Right-handed currents or nonzero masses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosen, S.P.; Perlmutter, A.

    1981-01-01

    This chapter describes some new developments concerning the mechanism for lepton number nonconservation in no-neutrino double beta decay. Explains that lepton number nonconservation in no-neutrino double beta decay comes about either because both left- and right-handed components of a Majorano neutrino are coupled to the electron in the weak leptonic current, or because the neutrino has nonzero mass. Shows that while nuclear ground-state to ground-state transitions arise from right-handed currents and from neutrino mass terms, transitions to low-lying excited states with J /SUP P/ =2 + can arise only from right-handed currents. Emphasizes that the possibilities of detecting small admixtures of right-handed currents, and of setting limits on neutrino masses that are either very small or very large, make double beta decay a most rewarding phenomenon to study

  4. Right handed neutrinos in scalar leptonic interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleury, N.; Barroso, M.; Magalhaes, M.E.; Martins Simoes, J.A.

    1985-01-01

    In this note we propose that right handed neutrinos can behave as singlets. Their interaction properties could be revealed through scalar couplings. Signatures and branching ratios for this hypothesis are discussed. In particular we discuss angular asymmetries in ν μ e #-> # ν e μ due to scalar exchange and z 0 decay in two scalars

  5. Thermal right-handed sneutrino dark matter in the NMSSM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cerdeno, David G.

    2009-01-01

    The right-handed sneutrino is a viable WIMP dark matter candidate within the context of the Next-to-MSSM. This is possible through the inclusion of a new singlet superfield with direct coupling to the singlet Higgs. I will review here the main details of this construction, together with the properties of the right-handed sneutrino, including its annihilation channels and direct detection prospects. Sneutrinos within a mass-range of 5-200 GeV can reproduce the correct dark matter relic abundance while not being excluded by current direct searches, and for natural values of the input parameters. Some interesting features regarding collider phenomenology are also pointed out.

  6. Enhanced visuo-haptic integration for the non-dominant hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yalachkov, Yavor; Kaiser, Jochen; Doehrmann, Oliver; Naumer, Marcus J

    2015-07-21

    Visuo-haptic integration contributes essentially to object shape recognition. Although there has been a considerable advance in elucidating the neural underpinnings of multisensory perception, it is still unclear whether seeing an object and exploring it with the dominant hand elicits the same brain response as compared to the non-dominant hand. Using fMRI to measure brain activation in right-handed participants, we found that for both left- and right-hand stimulation the left lateral occipital complex (LOC) and anterior cerebellum (aCER) were involved in visuo-haptic integration of familiar objects. These two brain regions were then further investigated in another study, where unfamiliar, novel objects were presented to a different group of right-handers. Here the left LOC and aCER were more strongly activated by bimodal than unimodal stimuli only when the left but not the right hand was used. A direct comparison indicated that the multisensory gain of the fMRI activation was significantly higher for the left than the right hand. These findings are in line with the principle of "inverse effectiveness", implying that processing of bimodally presented stimuli is particularly enhanced when the unimodal stimuli are weak. This applies also when right-handed subjects see and simultaneously touch unfamiliar objects with their non-dominant left hand. Thus, the fMRI signal in the left LOC and aCER induced by visuo-haptic stimulation is dependent on which hand was employed for haptic exploration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. What Is the Role of Manual Preference in Hand-Digit Mapping During Finger Counting? A Study in a Large Sample of Right- and Left-Handers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zago, Laure; Badets, Arnaud

    2016-01-01

    The goal of the present study was to test whether there is a relationship between manual preference and hand-digit mapping in 369 French adults with similar numbers of right- and left-handers. Manual laterality was evaluated with the finger tapping test to evaluate hand motor asymmetry, and the Edinburgh handedness inventory was used to assess manual preference strength (MPS) and direction. Participants were asked to spontaneously "count on their fingers from 1 to 10" without indications concerning the hand(s) to be used. The results indicated that both MPS and hand motor asymmetry affect the hand-starting preference for counting. Left-handers with a strong left-hand preference (sLH) or left-hand motor asymmetry largely started to count with their left hand (left-starter), while right-handers with a strong right-hand preference (sRH) or right-hand motor asymmetry largely started to count with their right hand (right-starter). Notably, individuals with weak MPS did not show a hand-starting preference. These findings demonstrated that manual laterality contributes to finger counting directionality. Lastly, the results showed a higher proportion of sLH left-starter individuals compared with sRH right-starters, indicating an asymmetric bias of MPS on hand-starting preference. We hypothesize that the higher proportion of sLH left-starters could be explained by the congruence between left-to-right hand-digit mapping and left-to-right mental number line representation that has been largely reported in the literature. Taken together, these results indicate that finger-counting habits integrate biological and cultural information. © The Author(s) 2015.

  8. Perseveration Found in a Human Drawing Task: Six-Fingered Hands Drawn by Patients with Right Anterior Insula and Operculum Damage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiharu Niki

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Perseveration has been observed in a number of behavioural contexts, including speaking, writing, and drawing. However, no previous report describes patients who show perseveration only for drawing a human figure. Objective. The present report describes a group of patients who show body awareness-related cognitive impairment during a human figure drawing task, a different presentation from previously described neuropsychological cases. Methods. Participants were 15 patients who had a frontal lobe brain tumour around the insula cortex of the right hemisphere and had subsequently undergone a neurosurgical resective operation. Participants were asked to draw a human figure in both “hands-down” and “hands-up” configurations. Results. Eight of the 15 patients drew a human figure with six fingers during the “hands-up” and the “hands-down” human figure drawing tasks (one patient drew eight fingers. A statistical analysis of potential lesion areas revealed damage to the right anterior frontal insula and operculum in this group of patients relative to the five-finger drawing group. Conclusions. Our findings reveal a newly described neuropsychological phenomenon that could reflect impairment in attention directed towards body representations.

  9. Perseveration Found in a Human Drawing Task: Six-Fingered Hands Drawn by Patients with Right Anterior Insula and Operculum Damage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niki, Chiharu; Maruyama, Takashi; Muragaki, Yoshihiro; Kumada, Takatsune

    2014-01-01

    Background. Perseveration has been observed in a number of behavioural contexts, including speaking, writing, and drawing. However, no previous report describes patients who show perseveration only for drawing a human figure. Objective. The present report describes a group of patients who show body awareness-related cognitive impairment during a human figure drawing task, a different presentation from previously described neuropsychological cases. Methods. Participants were 15 patients who had a frontal lobe brain tumour around the insula cortex of the right hemisphere and had subsequently undergone a neurosurgical resective operation. Participants were asked to draw a human figure in both “hands-down” and “hands-up” configurations. Results. Eight of the 15 patients drew a human figure with six fingers during the “hands-up” and the “hands-down” human figure drawing tasks (one patient drew eight fingers). A statistical analysis of potential lesion areas revealed damage to the right anterior frontal insula and operculum in this group of patients relative to the five-finger drawing group. Conclusions. Our findings reveal a newly described neuropsychological phenomenon that could reflect impairment in attention directed towards body representations. PMID:24876665

  10. Unimanual SNARC Effect: Hand Matters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianna eRiello

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available A structural representation of the hand embedding information about the identity and relative position of fingers is necessary to counting routines. It may also support associations between numbers and allocentric spatial codes that predictably interact with other known numerical spatial representations, such as the mental number line. In this study, 48 Western participants whose typical counting routine proceeded from thumb-to-little on both hands performed magnitude and parity binary judgments. Response keys were pressed either with the right index and middle fingers or with the left index and middle fingers in separate blocks. 24 participants responded with either hands in prone posture (i.e. palm down and 24 participants responded with either hands in supine (i.e. palm up posture. When hands were in prone posture, the counting direction of the left hand conflicted with the direction of the left-right mental number line, whereas the counting direction of the right hand was consistent with it. When hands were in supine posture, the opposite was true. If systematic associations existed between relative number magnitude and an allocentric spatial representation of the finger series within each hand, as predicted on the basis of counting habits, interactions would be expected between hand posture and a unimanual version of the Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC effect. Data revealed that with hands in prone posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the right hand, and with hands in supine posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the left hand. We propose that a posture-invariant body structural representation of the finger series provides a relevant frame of reference, a within-hand directional vector, that is associated to simple number processing. Such frame of reference can significantly interact with stimulus-response correspondence effects that have been attributed to the mapping of numbers on a mental

  11. Unimanual SNARC Effect: Hand Matters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riello, Marianna; Rusconi, Elena

    2011-01-01

    A structural representation of the hand embedding information about the identity and relative position of fingers is necessary to counting routines. It may also support associations between numbers and allocentric spatial codes that predictably interact with other known numerical spatial representations, such as the mental number line (MNL). In this study, 48 Western participants whose typical counting routine proceeded from thumb-to-little on both hands performed magnitude and parity binary judgments. Response keys were pressed either with the right index and middle fingers or with the left index and middle fingers in separate blocks. 24 participants responded with either hands in prone posture (i.e., palm down) and 24 participants responded with either hands in supine (i.e., palm up) posture. When hands were in prone posture, the counting direction of the left hand conflicted with the direction of the left-right MNL, whereas the counting direction of the right hand was consistent with it. When hands were in supine posture, the opposite was true. If systematic associations existed between relative number magnitude and an allocentric spatial representation of the finger series within each hand, as predicted on the basis of counting habits, interactions would be expected between hand posture and a unimanual version of the spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect. Data revealed that with hands in prone posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the right hand, and with hands in supine posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the left hand. We propose that a posture-invariant body structural representation of the finger series provides a relevant frame of reference, a within-hand directional vector, that is associated to simple number processing. Such frame of reference can significantly interact with stimulus-response correspondence effects, like the SNARC, that have been typically attributed to the mapping of numbers on a left-to-right

  12. Hand Specific Representations in Language Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire eMoody-Triantis

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Theories of embodied cognition argue that language comprehension involves sensory-motor re-enactments of the actions described. However, the degree of specificity of these re-enactments as well as the relationship between action and language remains a matter of debate. Here we investigate these issues by examining how hand-specific information (left or right hand is recruited in language comprehension and action execution. An fMRI study tested right-handed participants in two separate tasks that were designed to be as similar as possible to increase sensitivity of the comparison across task: an action execution go/no-go task where participants performed right or left hand actions, and a language task where participants read sentences describing the same left or right handed actions as in the execution task. We found that language-induced activity did not match the hand-specific patterns of activity found for action execution in primary somatosensory and motor cortex, but it overlapped with pre-motor and parietal regions associated with action planning. Within these pre-motor regions, both right hand actions and sentences elicited stronger activity than left hand actions and sentences - a dominant hand effect -. Importantly, both dorsal and ventral sections of the left pre-central gyrus were recruited by both tasks, suggesting different action features being recruited. These results suggest that (a language comprehension elicits motor representations that are hand-specific and akin to multimodal action plans, rather than full action re-enactments; and (b language comprehension and action execution share schematic hand-specific representations that are richer for the dominant hand, and thus linked to previous motor experience.

  13. Hand specific representations in language comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moody-Triantis, Claire; Humphreys, Gina F; Gennari, Silvia P

    2014-01-01

    Theories of embodied cognition argue that language comprehension involves sensory-motor re-enactments of the actions described. However, the degree of specificity of these re-enactments as well as the relationship between action and language remains a matter of debate. Here we investigate these issues by examining how hand-specific information (left or right hand) is recruited in language comprehension and action execution. An fMRI study tested self-reported right-handed participants in two separate tasks that were designed to be as similar as possible to increase sensitivity of the comparison across task: an action execution go/no-go task where participants performed right or left hand actions, and a language task where participants read sentences describing the same left or right handed actions as in the execution task. We found that language-induced activity did not match the hand-specific patterns of activity found for action execution in primary somatosensory and motor cortex, but it overlapped with pre-motor and parietal regions associated with action planning. Within these pre-motor regions, both right hand actions and sentences elicited stronger activity than left hand actions and sentences-a dominant hand effect. Importantly, both dorsal and ventral sections of the left pre-central gyrus were recruited by both tasks, suggesting different action features being recruited. These results suggest that (a) language comprehension elicits motor representations that are hand-specific and akin to multimodal action plans, rather than full action re-enactments; and (b) language comprehension and action execution share schematic hand-specific representations that are richer for the dominant hand, and thus linked to previous motor experience.

  14. Large or small angle MSW from single right-handed neutrino dominance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, S.F

    2000-01-01

    In this talk we discuss a natural explanation of both neutrino mass hierarchies and large neutrino mixing angles, as required by the atmospheric neutrino data, in terms of a single right-handed neutrino giving the dominant contribution to the 23 block of the light effective neutrino matrix, and illustrate this mechanism in the framework of models with U(1) family symmetries. Sub-dominant contributions from other right-handed neutrinos are required to give small mass splittings appropriate to the MSW solution to the solar neutrino problem. We present three explicit examples for achieving the small angle MSW solution in the framework of U(1) family symmetry models containing three right-handed neutrinos, which can naturally describe all quark and lepton masses and mixing angles. In this talk we also extend the analysis to the large angle MSW solution

  15. The role of self-interacting right-handed neutrinos in galactic structure

    CERN Document Server

    Argüelles, C.R.; Rueda, J.A.; Ruffini, R.

    2016-01-01

    We show that warm dark matter keV fermions (`inos') can be responsible for both core and halo galactic structure, in agreement with current astrophysical/cosmological constraints. We identify the inos with sterile right-handed neutrinos. The possible mass range of up to a few tens of keV, obtained independently from the galactic structure and dark matter astroparticle physics, points towards an important role of the right-handed neutrinos in the cosmic structure.

  16. Hand use and gestural communication in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkins, W D; Leavens, D A

    1998-03-01

    Hand use in gestural communication was examined in 115 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Hand use was measured in subjects while they gestured to food placed out of their reach. The distribution of hand use was examined in relation to sex, age, rearing history, gesture type, and whether the subjects vocalized while gesturing. Overall, significantly more chimpanzees, especially females and adults, gestured with their right than with their left hand. Foods begs were more lateralized to the right hand than pointing, and a greater prevalence of right-hand gesturing was found in subjects who simultaneously vocalized than those who did not. Taken together, these data suggest that referential, intentional communicative behaviors, in the form of gestures, are lateralized to the left hemisphere in chimpanzees.

  17. Search for right-handed currents in muon decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carr, J.; Gidal, G.; Gobbi, B.

    1983-04-01

    We report new limits on right-handed currents, based on precise measurement of the endpoint of the e + spectrum from μ + decay. Highly polarized μ + from the TRIUMF surface beam were stopped in pure metal foils within either an 1.1-T spin-holding longitudinal field, or a 70-gauss spin-precessing transverse field. Decay e + emitted within 200 mrad of the beam direction were momentum-analyzed to +-0.2%. For the spin-held data, decay via (V-A) currents requires the e + rate to approach zero in the beam direction at the endpoint. Measurement of this rate sets the 90% confidence limits xi P/sub μ/delta/rho > 0.9959 and M(W/sub R/) > 380 GeV, where W/sub R/ is the possible right-handed gauge boson. For the spin-precessed data we independently determine a 90% confidence limit xi P/sub μ/delta/rho > 0.9918. 18 references

  18. Right-handed and left-handed neutrinos and the two galactic populations of the universe. Additional evidence for the neutrino mass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fargion, D.

    1981-01-01

    There is astrophysical evidence in favour of the right-handed and left-handed nature of the neutrinos: the existence of our recent galactic population could be associated with a recent clustering of cosmological left-handed neutrinos, while a primordial galactic population could be created by a corresponding clustering of a cosmological right-handed neutrinos. This latter galactic population could be associated with an anomalous excess in the radiosource counts at a large red-shift which is consistent with the range of red-shifts predicted by our estimate, based on presently known elementary-particle physics and thermodynamics. (author)

  19. Ethics is for human subjects too: participant perspectives on responsibility in health research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Susan M; McDonald, Michael

    2013-12-01

    Despite the significant literature as well as energy devoted to ethical review of research involving human subjects, little attention has been given to understanding the experiences of those who volunteer as human subjects. Why and how do they decide to participate in research? Is research participation viewed as a form of social responsibility or as a way of obtaining individual benefits? What if anything do research subjects feel they are owed for participation? And what do they feel that they owe the researcher? Drawing on in-depth individual interviews conducted in 2006 and 2007 with 41 subjects who participated in a variety of types of health research in Canada, this paper focuses on subject perspectives on responsibility in research. Highlighting the range of ways that subjects describe their involvement in research and commitments to being a 'good' subject, we present a typology of narratives that sheds new light on the diverse meanings of research participation. These narratives are not mutually exclusive or prescriptive but are presented as ideal types typifying a set of circumstances and values. As such, they collectively illuminate a range of motivations expressed by human subjects as well as potential sources of vulnerability. The typology adds a new dimension to the literature in this area and has significant implications for researchers seeking more human-subject centred approaches to research recruitment and retention, as well as research ethics boards trying to better anticipate the perspectives of prospective participants. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Coordination of hand shape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesyna, Colin; Pundi, Krishna; Flanders, Martha

    2011-03-09

    The neural control of hand movement involves coordination of the sensory, motor, and memory systems. Recent studies have documented the motor coordinates for hand shape, but less is known about the corresponding patterns of somatosensory activity. To initiate this line of investigation, the present study characterized the sense of hand shape by evaluating the influence of differences in the amount of grasping or twisting force, and differences in forearm orientation. Human subjects were asked to use the left hand to report the perceived shape of the right hand. In the first experiment, six commonly grasped items were arranged on the table in front of the subject: bottle, doorknob, egg, notebook, carton, and pan. With eyes closed, subjects used the right hand to lightly touch, forcefully support, or imagine holding each object, while 15 joint angles were measured in each hand with a pair of wired gloves. The forces introduced by supporting or twisting did not influence the perceptual report of hand shape, but for most objects, the report was distorted in a consistent manner by differences in forearm orientation. Subjects appeared to adjust the intrinsic joint angles of the left hand, as well as the left wrist posture, so as to maintain the imagined object in its proper spatial orientation. In a second experiment, this result was largely replicated with unfamiliar objects. Thus, somatosensory and motor information appear to be coordinated in an object-based, spatial-coordinate system, sensitive to orientation relative to gravitational forces, but invariant to grasp forcefulness.

  1. Constraints on singlet right-handed neutrinos coming from the Z0-width

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Escobar, C.O.; Peres, O.L.G.; Pleitez, V.

    1992-12-01

    The constraints on masses and missing angles imposed by the measured Z 0 invisible width, in a model in which a singlet right-handed neutrino mixes with all the Standard model neutrinos are studied. If neutrinos are massive an important question to be answered concerns the way the Z-pole observables constraint their masses and mixing parameters. In particular the measured Z-invisible width, Γ inv , implies that the number of families is compatible with three. On the other hand, it is well known that this number need not to be an integer number if right-handed neutrinos transformed as singlets under SU(2) L x U(1) Y are added to the particle content of the theory. Experimental searches for sequential neutron leptons beyond the three generations exclude stable Dirac neutrinos below 41.8 GeV and stable Majorana neutrinos below 34.8 GeV. For the unstable cases these values are 46,4 and 45.1 GeV respectively. However, it is worth stressing that these limits are valid for sequential leptons and do not apply to the case of singlets of right-handed neutrinos. Here we will consider the simplest extension of the standard electroweak model with the addition of the one right-handed singlet neutral fermion, resulting in 4 physical neutrinos two of them massless and two massive ones. (author)

  2. Participation and the right to health: lessons from Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halabi, Sam Foster

    2009-01-01

    The right to participation is the "the right of rights"--the basic right of people to have a say in how decisions that affect their lives are made. All legally binding international human rights treaties explicitly recognize the essential role of participation in realizing fundamental human rights. While the substance of the human right to health has been extensively developed, the right to participation as one of its components has remained largely unexplored. Should rights-based health advocacy focus on participation because there is a relationship between an individual's or a community's active involvement in health care decision-making and the highest attainable standard of health? In the context of the human right to health, does participation mean primarily political participation, or should we take the right to participation to mean more specifically the right of persons, individually and as a group, to shape health care policy for society and for themselves as patients? Decentralization of health care decision-making promises greater participation through citizen involvement in setting priorities, monitoring service provision, and finding new and creative ways to finance public health programs. Between 1999 and 2008, Indonesia decentralized health care funding and delivery to regional governments, resulting in substantial exclusion of its poor and uneducated citizens from the health care system while simultaneously expanding the opportunities for political participation for educated elites. This article explores the tension between the right to participation as an underlying determinant of health and as a political right by reviewing the experience of Indonesia ten years after its decision to decentralize health care provision. It is ultimately argued that rights-based advocates must be vigilant in retaining a unified perspective on human rights, resisting the persistent tendency to separate and prioritize the civil and political aspects of participation

  3. The da vinci robot system eliminates multispecialty surgical trainees' hand dominance in open and robotic surgical settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badalato, Gina M; Shapiro, Edan; Rothberg, Michael B; Bergman, Ari; RoyChoudhury, Arindam; Korets, Ruslan; Patel, Trushar; Badani, Ketan K

    2014-01-01

    Handedness, or the inherent dominance of one hand's dexterity over the other's, is a factor in open surgery but has an unknown importance in robot-assisted surgery. We sought to examine whether the robotic surgery platform could eliminate the effect of inherent hand preference. Residents from the Urology and Obstetrics/Gynecology departments were enrolled. Ambidextrous and left-handed subjects were excluded. After completing a questionnaire, subjects performed three tasks modified from the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery curriculum. Tasks were performed by hand and then with the da Vinci robotic surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, California). Participants were randomized to begin with using either the left or the right hand, and then switch. Left:right ratios were calculated from scores based on time to task completion. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the significance of the impact of surgical technique on hand dominance. Ten subjects were enrolled. The mean difference in raw score performance between the right and left hands was 12.5 seconds for open tasks and 8 seconds for robotic tasks (Probot tasks, respectively (Probotic and open approaches for raw time scores (Phand, prior robotic experience, and comfort level. These findings remain to be validated in larger cohorts. The robotic technique reduces hand dominance in surgical trainees across all task domains. This finding contributes to the known advantages of robotic surgery.

  4. Spatial limits on the nonvisual self-touch illusion and the visual rubber hand illusion: subjective experience of the illusion and proprioceptive drift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aimola Davies, Anne M; White, Rebekah C; Davies, Martin

    2013-06-01

    The nonvisual self-touch rubber hand paradigm elicits the compelling illusion that one is touching one's own hand even though the two hands are not in contact. In four experiments, we investigated spatial limits of distance (15 cm, 30 cm, 45 cm, 60 cm) and alignment (0°, 90° anti-clockwise) on the nonvisual self-touch illusion and the well-known visual rubber hand illusion. Common procedures (synchronous and asynchronous stimulation administered for 60s with the prosthetic hand at body midline) and common assessment methods were used. Subjective experience of the illusion was assessed by agreement ratings for statements on a questionnaire and time of illusion onset. The nonvisual self-touch illusion was diminished though never abolished by distance and alignment manipulations, whereas the visual rubber hand illusion was more robust against these manipulations. We assessed proprioceptive drift, and implications of a double dissociation between subjective experience of the illusion and proprioceptive drift are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. R-parity violating right-handed neutrino in gravitino dark matter scenario

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Endo, Motoi

    2009-06-01

    A decay of the gravitino dark matter is an attractive candidate to explain the current excesses of the PAMELA/ATIC cosmic-ray data. However, R-parity violations are required to be very tiny in low-energy scale. We suggest a R-parity violation in the right-handed neutrino sector. The violation is suppressed by a see-saw mechanism. Although a reheating temperature is constrained from above, the thermal leptogenesis is found to work successfully with a help of the R-parity violating right-handed neutrino. (orig.)

  6. R-parity violating right-handed neutrino in gravitino dark matter scenario

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Endo, Motoi [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland). Theory Div., PH Dept.; Shindou, Tetsuo [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2009-06-15

    A decay of the gravitino dark matter is an attractive candidate to explain the current excesses of the PAMELA/ATIC cosmic-ray data. However, R-parity violations are required to be very tiny in low-energy scale. We suggest a R-parity violation in the right-handed neutrino sector. The violation is suppressed by a see-saw mechanism. Although a reheating temperature is constrained from above, the thermal leptogenesis is found to work successfully with a help of the R-parity violating right-handed neutrino. (orig.)

  7. The right inhibition? Callosal correlates of hand performance in healthy children and adolescents callosal correlates of hand performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurth, Florian; Mayer, Emeran A; Toga, Arthur W; Thompson, Paul M; Luders, Eileen

    2013-09-01

    Numerous studies suggest that interhemispheric inhibition-relayed via the corpus callosum-plays an important role in unilateral hand motions. Interestingly, transcallosal inhibition appears to be indicative of a strong laterality effect, where generally the dominant hemisphere exerts inhibition on the nondominant one. These effects have been largely identified through functional studies in adult populations, but links between motor performance and callosal structure (especially during sensitive periods of neurodevelopment) remain largely unknown. We therefore investigated correlations between Purdue Pegboard performance (a test of motor function) and local callosal thickness in 170 right-handed children and adolescents (mean age: 11.5 ± 3.4 years; range, 6-17 years). Better task performance with the right (dominant) hand was associated with greater callosal thickness in isthmus and posterior midbody. Task performance using both hands yielded smaller and less significant correlations in the same regions, while task performance using the left (nondominant) hand showed no significant correlations with callosal thickness. There were no significant interactions with age and sex. These links between motor performance and callosal structure may constitute the neural correlate of interhemispheric inhibition, which is thought to be necessary for fast and complex unilateral motions and to be biased towards the dominant hand. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley company.

  8. Effects of hand grip exercise on shoulder joint internal rotation and external rotation peak torque.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Dong-Rour; Jong-Soon Kim, Laurentius

    2016-08-10

    The goal of this study is to analyze the effects of hand grip training on shoulder joint internal rotation (IR)/external rotation (ER) peak torque for healthy people. The research was conducted on 23 healthy adults in their 20 s-30 s who volunteered to participate in the experiment. Hand grip power test was performed on both hands of the research subjects before/after the test to study changes in hand grip power. Isokinetic machine was used to measure the concentric IRPT (internal rotation peak torque) and concentric ERPT (external rotation peak torque) at the velocity of 60°/sec, 90°/sec, and 180°/sec before/after the test. Hand grip training was performed daily on the subject's right hand only for four weeks according to exercise program. Finally, hand grip power of both hands and the maximum torque values of shoulder joint IR/ER were measured before/after the test and analyzed. There was a statistically significant difference in the hand grip power of the right hand, which was subject to hand grip training, after the experiment. Also, statistically significant difference for shoulder ERPT was found at 60°/sec. Hand grip training has a positive effect on shoulder joint IRPT/ERPT and therefore can help strengthen muscles around the shoulder without using weight on the shoulder. Consequently, hand grip training would help maintain strengthen the muscles around the shoulder in the early phase of rehabilitation process after shoulder surgery.

  9. The Subjectivity of Participation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nissen, Morten

    of a community of social/youth workers in Copenhagen between 1987 and 2003, who developed a pedagogy through creating collectives and mobilizing young people as participants. The theoretical and practical traditions are combined in a unique methodology viewing research as a contentious modeling of prototypical......What is a 'we' – a collective – and how can we use such communal self-knowledge to help people? This book is about collectivity, participation, and subjectivity – and about the social theories that may help us understand these matters. It also seeks to learn from the innovative practices and ideas...

  10. Anarchic-Hand Syndrome: ERP Reflections of Lost Control over the Right Hemisphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verleger, Rolf; Binkofski, Ferdinand; Friedrich, Monique; Sedlmeier, Peter; Kompf, Detlef

    2011-01-01

    In patients with the callosal type of anarchic-hand syndrome, the left hand often does not act as intended and counteracts the right hand. Reports are scarce about the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. We report the case G.H. who developed the syndrome after infarction of the left arteria pericallosa. It has been suggested that the…

  11. [Analysis and research of brain-computer interface experiments for imaging left-right hands movement].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yazhou; He, Qinghua; Huang, Hua; Zhang, Ling; Zhuo, Yu; Xie, Qi; Wu, Baoming

    2008-10-01

    This is a research carried out to explore a pragmatic way of BCI based imaging movement, i. e. to extract the feature of EEG for reflecting different thinking by searching suitable methods of signal extraction and recognition algorithm processing, to boost the recognition rate of communication for BCI system, and finally to establish a substantial theory and experimental support for BCI application. In this paper, different mental tasks for imaging left-right hands movement from 6 subjects were studied in three different time sections (hint keying at 2s, 1s and 0s after appearance of arrow). Then we used wavelet analysis and Feed-forward Back-propagation Neural Network (BP-NN) method for processing and analyzing the experimental data of off-line. Delay time delta t2, delta t1 and delta t0 for all subjects in the three different time sections were analyzed. There was significant difference between delta to and delta t2 or delta t1 (P0.05). The average results of recognition rate were 65%, 86.67% and 72%, respectively. There were obviously different features for imaging left-right hands movement about 0.5-1s before actual movement; these features displayed significant difference. We got higher recognition rate of communication under the hint keying at about 1s after the appearance of arrow. These showed the feasibility of using the feature signals extracted from the project as the external control signals for BCI system, and demon strated that the project provided new ideas and methods for feature extraction and classification of mental tasks for BCI.

  12. Ipsilateral deficits in 1-handed shoe tying after left or right hemisphere stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poole, Janet L; Sadek, Joseph; Haaland, Kathleen Y

    2009-10-01

    Poole JL, Sadek J, Haaland KY. Ipsilateral deficits in 1-handed shoe tying after left or right hemisphere stroke. To examine 1-handed shoe tying performance and whether cognitive deficits more associated with left or right hemisphere damage differentially affect it after unilateral stroke. Observational cohort comparing ipsilesional shoe tying, spatial and language skills, and limb praxis. Primary care Veterans Affairs and private medical center. Not applicable. Volunteer right-handed sample of adults with left or right hemisphere damage and healthy demographically matched adults. The number of correct trials and the total time to complete 10 trials tying a shoe using the 1-handed method. Both stroke groups had fewer correct trials and were significantly slower tying the shoe than the control group. Spatial skills predicted accuracy and speed after right hemisphere damage. After left hemisphere damage, accuracy was predicted by spatial skills and limb praxis, while speed was predicted by limb praxis only. Ipsilesional shoe tying is similarly impaired after left or right hemisphere damage, but for different reasons. Spatial deficits had a greater influence after right hemisphere damage, and limb apraxia had a greater influence after left hemisphere damage. Language deficits did not affect performance, indicating that aphasia does not preclude using this therapy approach. These results suggest that rehabilitation professionals should consider assessment of limb apraxia and ipsilesional skill training in the performance of everyday tasks.

  13. See-saw enhancement of neutrino mixing due to the right-handed phases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanimoto, M.

    1994-11-01

    We study the see-saw enhancement mechanism in presence of the right-handed phases of the Dirac neutrino mass matrix and the Majorana mass matrix. The enhancement condition given by Smirnov is modified. We point out that the see-saw enhancement could be obtained due to the right-handed phases even if the Majorana matrix is proportional to the unit matrix. We show a realistic Dirac mass matrix which causes the see-saw enhancement. (author)

  14. A booklet on participants' rights to improve consent for clinical research: a randomized trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jocelyne R Benatar

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Information on the rights of subjects in clinical trials has become increasingly complex and difficult to understand. This study evaluates whether a simple booklet which is relevant to all research studies improves the understanding of rights needed for subjects to provide informed consent. METHODS: 21 currently used informed consent forms (ICF from international clinical trials were separated into information related to the specific research study, and general information on participants' rights. A booklet designed to provide information on participants' rights which used simple language was developed to replace this information in current ICF's Readability of each component of ICF's and the booklet was then assessed using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading ease score (FK. To further evaluate the booklet 282 hospital inpatients were randomised to one of three ways to present research information; a standard ICF, the booklet combined with a short ICF, or the booklet combined with a simplified ICF. Comprehension of information related to the research proposal and to participant's rights was assessed by questionnaire. RESULTS: Information related to participants' rights contributed an average of 44% of the words in standard ICFs, and was harder to read than information describing the clinical trial (FK 25 versus (vs. 41 respectively, p = 0.0003. The booklet reduced the number of words and improved FK from 25 to 42. The simplified ICF had a slightly higher FK score than the standard ICF (50 vs. 42. Comprehension assessed in inpatients was better for the booklet and short ICF 62%, (95% confidence interval (CI 56 to 67 correct, or simplified ICF 62% (CI 58 to 68 correct compared to 52%, (CI 47 to 57 correct for the standard ICF, p = 0.009. This was due to better understanding of questions on rights (62% vs. 49% correct, p = 0.0008. Comprehension of study related information was similar for the simplified and standard ICF (60% vs. 64

  15. A booklet on participants' rights to improve consent for clinical research: a randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benatar, Jocelyne R; Mortimer, John; Stretton, Matthew; Stewart, Ralph A H

    2012-01-01

    Information on the rights of subjects in clinical trials has become increasingly complex and difficult to understand. This study evaluates whether a simple booklet which is relevant to all research studies improves the understanding of rights needed for subjects to provide informed consent. 21 currently used informed consent forms (ICF) from international clinical trials were separated into information related to the specific research study, and general information on participants' rights. A booklet designed to provide information on participants' rights which used simple language was developed to replace this information in current ICF's Readability of each component of ICF's and the booklet was then assessed using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading ease score (FK). To further evaluate the booklet 282 hospital inpatients were randomised to one of three ways to present research information; a standard ICF, the booklet combined with a short ICF, or the booklet combined with a simplified ICF. Comprehension of information related to the research proposal and to participant's rights was assessed by questionnaire. Information related to participants' rights contributed an average of 44% of the words in standard ICFs, and was harder to read than information describing the clinical trial (FK 25 versus (vs.) 41 respectively, p = 0.0003). The booklet reduced the number of words and improved FK from 25 to 42. The simplified ICF had a slightly higher FK score than the standard ICF (50 vs. 42). Comprehension assessed in inpatients was better for the booklet and short ICF 62%, (95% confidence interval (CI) 56 to 67) correct, or simplified ICF 62% (CI 58 to 68) correct compared to 52%, (CI 47 to 57) correct for the standard ICF, p = 0.009. This was due to better understanding of questions on rights (62% vs. 49% correct, p = 0.0008). Comprehension of study related information was similar for the simplified and standard ICF (60% vs. 64% correct, p = 0.68). A booklet

  16. A Cognitive Analysis of Truck Drivers’ Right-hand Turns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sieker, Tobias Grønborg; G. Skulason, Thorgeir; Sletting, Kristian

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents an investigation of truck drivers’ performance during right-hand turns performed in intersections with traffic lights in order to elicit the truck drivers’ domain, decision-making processes, and the strategies used while executing the turn. To gain knowledge about this, a truc...

  17. keV right-handed neutrinos from type II seesaw mechanism in a 3-3-1 model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cogollo, D.; Diniz, H.; Pires, C.A. de S

    2009-01-01

    We adapt the type II seesaw mechanism to the framework of the 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos. We emphasize that the mechanism is capable of generating small masses for the left-handed and right-handed neutrinos and the structure of the model allows that both masses arise from the same Yukawa coupling. For typical values of the free parameters of the model we may obtain at least one right-handed neutrino with mass in the keV range. Right-handed neutrino with mass in this range is a viable candidate for the warm component of the dark matter existent in the universe.

  18. Relic right-handed Dirac neutrinos and implications for detection of cosmic neutrino background

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jue Zhang

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available It remains to be determined experimentally if massive neutrinos are Majorana or Dirac particles. In this connection, it has been recently suggested that the detection of cosmic neutrino background of left-handed neutrinos νL and right-handed antineutrinos ν‾R in future experiments of neutrino capture on beta-decaying nuclei (e.g., νe+H3→He3+e− for the PTOLEMY experiment is likely to distinguish between Majorana and Dirac neutrinos, since the capture rate is twice larger in the former case. In this paper, we investigate the possible impact of right-handed neutrinos on the capture rate, assuming that massive neutrinos are Dirac particles and both right-handed neutrinos νR and left-handed antineutrinos ν‾L can be efficiently produced in the early Universe. It turns out that the capture rate can be enhanced at most by 28% due to the presence of relic νR and ν‾L with a total number density of 95 cm−3, which should be compared to the number density 336 cm−3 of cosmic neutrino background. The enhancement has actually been limited by the latest cosmological and astrophysical bounds on the effective number of neutrino generations Neff=3.14−0.43+0.44 at the 95% confidence level. For illustration, two possible scenarios have been proposed for thermal production of right-handed neutrinos in the early Universe.

  19. Search for right-handed currents in the kaon decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamanaka, Taku

    1985-01-01

    The longitudinal polarization of the muon emitted in the decay K + → μ + ν was measured to search for right-handed weak currents in the strangeness-changing process. The polarization was determined to be -0.970 +- 0.047, which is consistent with the V-A hypothesis. (author)

  20. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND WATER USE RIGHTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phillipa King

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The conservation and protection of water resources is paramount in the safeguarding of environmental rights and the attainment of sustainable development in South Africa. Although the National Water Act 36 of 1998 (the NWA seeks to provide a framework for ensuring the sustainable use of water resources, its application has been hindered by capacity and enforcement constraints, a legacy of water pollution (primarily as a result of mining and industrial activities, and poor resource management. To aggravate this situation, the difficulties in effectively implementing the NWA are exacerbated by inadequate public participation in water use licensing processes. Public participation in environmental decision-making has increasingly received recognition for its role in ensuring administrative justice and the protection of environmental rights. While environmental legislation (in many cases sets out procedures for ensuring that public views are taken into account in environmental decision-making processes, the judiciary has also recognised the pivotal role of public engagement in ensuring administrative justice where environmental rights are at stake. Sound public participation practices play an important role in identifying issues requiring consideration in the context of environmental assessment processes, as well as in ensuring that communities are empowered to monitor, identify and report on potential contraventions of environmental legislation. Water is a vital natural resource which is under significant pressure in South Africa. In the circumstances, effective public participation is crucial to ensuring the protection and equitable use of water resources. It follows that provision for comprehensive public engagement in water use licensing processes is integral to ensuring the sustainable management of water resources. While provision is made in the NWA for public engagement in the context of water use licensing processes, such participation is

  1. Student Content Knowledge Increases after Participation in a Hands-on Biotechnology Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigler, Amber M.; Hanegan, Nikki L.

    2011-01-01

    Implementing biotechnology education through hands-on teaching methods should be considered by secondary biology teachers. This study is an experimental research design to examine increased student content knowledge in biotechnology after a hands-on biotechnology intervention. The teachers from both school groups participated in, Project Crawfish,…

  2. A right-handed signalling pathway drives heart looping in vertebrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ocaña, Oscar H.; Coskun, Hakan; Minguillón, Carolina; Murawala, Prayag; Tanaka, Elly M.; Galcerán, Joan; Muñoz-Chapuli, Ramón; Nieto, M. Angela

    2017-01-01

    The majority of animals show external bilateral symmetry, precluding the observation of multiple internal left-right (L/R) asymmetries that are fundamental for organ packaging and function1,2. In vertebrates, left identity is mediated by the left-specific Nodal-Pitx2 axis that is repressed on the right-hand side by the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) inducer Snail13,4. Despite some existing evidence3,5, it remains unclear whether an equivalent instructive pathway provides right-hand specific information to the embryo. Here we show that in zebrafish, BMP mediates the L/R asymmetric activation of another EMT inducer, Prrx1a, in the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) with higher levels on the right. Prrx1a drives L/R differential cell movements towards the midline leading to a leftward displacement of the cardiac posterior pole through an actomyosin-dependent mechanism. Downregulation of Prrx1a prevents heart looping and leads to mesocardia. Two parallel and mutually repressed pathways, respectively driven by Nodal and BMP on the left and right LPM, converge on the asymmetric activation of Pitx2 and Prrx1, two transcription factors that integrate left and right information to govern heart morphogenesis. This mechanism is conserved in the chicken embryo and, in the mouse, Snail1 fulfills the role played by Prrx1 in fish and chick. Thus, a differential L/R EMT produces asymmetric cell movements and forces, more prominent from the right, that drive heart laterality in vertebrates. PMID:28880281

  3. Search for W(prime) → tb resonances with left- and right-handed couplings to fermions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    We present a search for the production of a heavy gauge boson, W(prime), that decays to third-generation quarks, by the D0 Collaboration in p(bar p) collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV. We set 95% confidence level upper limits on the production cross section times branching fraction. For the first time, we set limits for arbitrary combinations of left- and right-handed couplings of the W(prime) boson to fermions. For couplings with the same strength as the standard model W boson, we set the following limits for M(W(prime)) > m(ν R ): M(W(prime)) > 863 GeV for purely left-handed couplings, M(W(prime)) > 885 GeV for purely right-handed couplings, and M(W(prime)) > 916 GeV if both left- and right-handed couplings are present. The limit for right-handed couplings improves for M(W(prime)) R ) to M(W(prime)) > 890 GeV.

  4. 38 CFR 52.70 - Participant rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... participant has a right to a dignified existence, self-determination, and communication with and access to...); and (ii) After receipt of their records for review, to purchase, at a cost not to exceed the community... to participants, and must post a notice of their availability; and (2) Receive information from...

  5. Bimanual proprioception: are two hands better than one?

    OpenAIRE

    Wong, J.D.; Wilson, E.T.; Kistemaker, D.A.; Gribble, P.L.

    2014-01-01

    Information about the position of an object that is held in both hands, such as a golf club or a tennis racquet, is transmitted to the human central nervous system from peripheral sensors in both left and right arms. How does the brain combine these two sources of information? Using a robot to move participant's passive limbs, we performed psychophysical estimates of proprioceptive function for each limb independently and again when subjects grasped the robot handle with both arms. We compare...

  6. Impact of body posture on laterality judgement and explicit recognition tasks performed on self and others' hands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conson, Massimiliano; Errico, Domenico; Mazzarella, Elisabetta; De Bellis, Francesco; Grossi, Dario; Trojano, Luigi

    2015-04-01

    Judgments on laterality of hand stimuli are faster and more accurate when dealing with one's own than others' hand, i.e. the self-advantage. This advantage seems to be related to activation of a sensorimotor mechanism while implicitly processing one's own hands, but not during explicit one's own hand recognition. Here, we specifically tested the influence of proprioceptive information on the self-hand advantage by manipulating participants' body posture during self and others' hand processing. In Experiment 1, right-handed healthy participants judged laterality of either self or others' hands, whereas in Experiment 2, an explicit recognition of one's own hands was required. In both experiments, the participants performed the task while holding their left or right arm flexed with their hand in direct contact with their chest ("flexed self-touch posture") or with their hand placed on a wooden smooth surface in correspondence with their chest ("flexed proprioceptive-only posture"). In an "extended control posture", both arms were extended and in contact with thighs. In Experiment 1 (hand laterality judgment), we confirmed the self-advantage and demonstrated that it was enhanced when the subjects judged left-hand stimuli at 270° orientation while keeping their left arm in the flexed proprioceptive-only posture. In Experiment 2 (explicit self-hand recognition), instead, we found an advantage for others' hand ("self-disadvantage") independently from posture manipulation. Thus, position-related proprioceptive information from left non-dominant arm can enhance sensorimotor one's own body representation selectively favouring implicit self-hands processing.

  7. Embodied neurofeedback with an anthropomorphic robotic hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, Niclas; Emkes, Reiner; Thorne, Jeremy D; Debener, Stefan

    2016-11-21

    Neurofeedback-guided motor imagery training (NF-MIT) has been suggested as a promising therapy for stroke-induced motor impairment. Whereas much NF-MIT research has aimed at signal processing optimization, the type of sensory feedback given to the participant has received less attention. Often the feedback signal is highly abstract and not inherently coupled to the mental act performed. In this study, we asked whether an embodied feedback signal is more efficient for neurofeedback operation than a non-embodiable feedback signal. Inspired by the rubber hand illusion, demonstrating that an artificial hand can be incorporated into one's own body scheme, we used an anthropomorphic robotic hand to visually guide the participants' motor imagery act and to deliver neurofeedback. Using two experimental manipulations, we investigated how a participant's neurofeedback performance and subjective experience were influenced by the embodiability of the robotic hand, and by the neurofeedback signal's validity. As pertains to embodiment, we found a promoting effect of robotic-hand embodiment in subjective, behavioral, electrophysiological and electrodermal measures. Regarding neurofeedback signal validity, we found some differences between real and sham neurofeedback in terms of subjective and electrodermal measures, but not in terms of behavioral and electrophysiological measures. This study motivates the further development of embodied feedback signals for NF-MIT.

  8. Hand proximity facilitates spatial discrimination of auditory tones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip eTseng

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The effect of hand proximity on vision and visual attention has been well documented. In this study we tested whether such effect(s would also be present in the auditory modality. With hands placed either near or away from the audio sources, participants performed an auditory-spatial discrimination (Exp 1: left or right side, pitch discrimination (Exp 2: high, med, or low tone, and spatial-plus-pitch (Exp 3: left or right; high, med, or low discrimination task. In Exp 1, when hands were away from the audio source, participants consistently responded faster with their right hand regardless of stimulus location. This right hand advantage, however, disappeared in the hands-near condition because of a significant improvement in left hand’s reaction time. No effect of hand proximity was found in Exp 2 or 3, where a choice reaction time task requiring pitch discrimination was used. Together, these results suggest that the effect of hand proximity is not exclusive to vision alone, but is also present in audition, though in a much weaker form. Most important, these findings provide evidence from auditory attention that supports the multimodal account originally raised by Reed et al. in 2006.

  9. Convergent synthesis of the right-hand segment of ciguatoxin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamajima, Akinari; Isobe, Minoru

    2006-03-16

    [reaction: see text] A convergent synthesis of the right-hand half of ciguatoxin (the HIJKLM ring system) has been achieved with complete stereocontrol in the introduction of the stereocenters on the eight-membered I ring. Key steps are Sonogashira coupling, dicobalt complexation, intramolecular conjugate addition, and hydrogenation of an endo-olefin to provide the 39-alpha-methyl group.

  10. Psychosis-proneness and the rubber hand illusion of body ownership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Germine, Laura; Benson, Taylor Leigh; Cohen, Francesca; Hooker, Christine I'lee

    2013-05-15

    Psychosis and psychosis-proneness are associated with abnormalities in subjective experience of the self, including distortions in bodily experience that are difficult to study experimentally due to lack of structured methods. In 55 healthy adults, we assessed the relationship between self-reported psychosis-like characteristics and susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion of body ownership. In this illusion, a participant sees a rubber hand being stroked by a brush at the same time that they feel a brush stroking their own hand. In some individuals, this creates the bodily sense that the rubber hand is their own hand. Individual differences in positive (but not negative) psychosis-like characteristics predicted differences in susceptibility to experiencing the rubber hand illusion. This relationship was specific to the subjective experience of rubber hand ownership, and not other unusual experiences or sensations, and absent when a small delay was introduced between seeing and feeling the brush stroke. This indicates that individual differences in susceptibility are related to visual-tactile integration and cannot be explained by differences in the tendency to endorse unusual experiences. Our findings suggest that susceptibility to body representation distortion by sensory information may be related or contribute to the development of psychosis and positive psychosis-like characteristics. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Right-handed currents and heavy neutrinos in high energy ep and e+e- scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buchmueller, W.; Greub, C.

    1992-03-01

    Heavy Dirac or Majorana neutrinos can be produced via right-handed charged currents which occur in extensions of the standard model with SU(2) L x SU(2) R x U(1) B-L gauge symmetry. Low energy processes, Z precision experiments and direct search experiments in pp collisions are consistent with W R bosons heavier than 300 GeV, if the right-handed neutrinos are heavy. We study the production of heavy neutrinos via right-handed currents in e + e - annihilation and ep scattering which appears particularly promising. At HERA heavy neutrinos and W R bosons can be discovered with masses up to 170 GeV and 700 GeV, respectively. (orig.)

  12. Search for right-handed Majorana neutrinos at LHC in the ATLAS detector

    CERN Document Server

    Collot, J

    1998-01-01

    In this paper, we briefly recall the main characteristics of the minimal Left-Right Symmetric Model, a gauge theory which suggests that parity gets restored at high energy and which may also allow neutrinos to be massive. If neutrinos turn out to be Majorana particles, the See-Saw mechanism implies that the light left-handed neutrinos should have heavy right-handed partners. In this theoret ical framework, one may expect the discovery of three new gauge bosons ($W_{R}^{+}$, $W_{R}^{-}$ and $Z'$) as well as heavy right-handed Majorana neutrinos ($N_{l}$) at the future LHC. Two possibl e signals have been simulated in the ATLAS detector~: $pp \\rightarrow W_{R} \\rightarrow eN_{e} \\rightarrow eejj$ and $pp \\rightarrow Z' \\rightarrow N_{e}N_{e} \\rightarrow eejjjj$. After three ye ars of data-taking at nominal luminosity and an appropriate reduction of the background, the first channel may allow us to discover $W_{R}$ and $N_{e}$ up to masses of 6.4 and 3.3 TeV respective ly, while the second process may lead to th...

  13. The Core Problem within a Linear Approximation Problem $AX/approx B$ with Multiple Right-Hand Sides

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hnětynková, Iveta; Plešinger, Martin; Strakoš, Z.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 34, č. 3 (2013), s. 917-931 ISSN 0895-4798 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-06684S Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GA201/09/0917; GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.09.0155; GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.30.0065 Program:GA Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : total least squares problem * multiple right-hand sides * core problem * linear approximation problem * error-in-variables modeling * orthogonal regression * singular value decomposition Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.806, year: 2013

  14. Hand posture effects on handedness recognition as revealed by the Simon effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allan P Lameira

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the influence of hand posture in handedness recognition, while varying the spatial correspondence between stimulus and response in a modified Simon task. Drawings of the left and right hands were displayed either in a back or palm view while participants discriminated stimulus handedness by pressing left/right keys with their hands resting either in a prone or supine posture. As a control, subjects performed a regular Simon task using simple geometric shapes as stimuli. Results showed that when hands were in a prone posture, the spatially corresponding trials (i.e., stimulus and response located on the same side were faster than the non-corresponding trials (i.e., stimulus and response on opposite sides. In contrast, for the supine posture, there was no difference between corresponding and non-corresponding trials. The control experiment with the regular Simon task showed that the posture of the responding hand had no influence on performance. When the stimulus is the drawing of a hand, however, the posture of the responding hand affects the spatial correspondence effect because response location is coded based on multiple reference points, including the body of the hand.

  15. Low-mass right-handed gauge bosons, manifest left-right symmetry, and the K/sub L/-K/sub s/ mass difference

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Datta, A.; Raychaudhuri, A.

    1983-01-01

    We calculate the K/sub L/-K/sub S/ mass difference in left-right-symmetric models with four quarks. It is found that a low right-handed mass scale requires strong deviations from manifest left-right symmetry

  16. Electroencephalographic (eeg coherence between visual and motor areas of the left and the right brain hemisphere while performing visuomotor task with the right and the left hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Brežan

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Unilateral limb movements are based on the activation of contralateral primary motor cortex and the bilateral activation of premotor cortices. Performance of a visuomotor task requires a visuomotor integration between motor and visual cortical areas. The functional integration (»binding« of different brain areas, is probably mediated by the synchronous neuronal oscillatory activity, which can be determined by electroencephalographic (EEG coherence analysis. We introduced a new method of coherence analysis and compared coherence and power spectra in the left and right hemisphere for the right vs. left hand visuomotor task, hypothesizing that the increase in coherence and decrease in power spectra while performing the task would be greater in the contralateral hemisphere.Methods: We analyzed 6 healthy subjects and recorded their electroencephalogram during visuomotor task with the right or the left hand. For data analysis, a special Matlab computer programme was designed. The results were statistically analysed by a two-way analysis of variance, one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc t-tests with Bonferroni correction.Results: We demonstrated a significant increase in coherence (p < 0.05 for the visuomotor task compared to control tasks in alpha (8–13 Hz in beta 1 (13–20 Hz frequency bands between visual and motor electrodes. There were no significant differences in coherence nor power spectra depending on the hand used. The changes of coherence and power spectra between both hemispheres were symmetrical.Conclusions: In previous studies, a specific increase of coherence and decrease of power spectra for the visuomotor task was found, but we found no conclusive asymmetries when performing the task with right vs. left hand. This could be explained in a way that increases in coherence and decreases of power spectra reflect symmetrical activation and cooperation between more complex visual and motor brain areas.

  17. KeV right-handed neutrinos from type II seesaw mechanism in a 3-3-1 model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cogollo, D.; Diniz, H.; Pires, Carlos

    2009-01-01

    Full text. Right-handed neutrinos were not detected yet in nature. Nobody knows if they are light or heavy particles. Light right-handed neutrinos are phenomenologically interesting because of their intricate implications in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. For example, warm dark matter in the form of sterile neutrinos with mass in the KeV range has been advocated as a solution to the conflict among cold dark matter and observations of clustering on sub galactic scales. There are many papers devoted to the study of such implications. However, as far as we know, there are few ones devoted to the development of mechanisms that could lead to light right-handed neutrinos. Suppose a scenario where the left-handed neutrinos as well as the right-handed ones are all light particles. In a scenario like this, a challenging task to particle physics would be to develop a seesaw mechanism in the framework of some extension of the standard model that could induce the small masses of these neutrinos. In this regard, an even more interesting scenario would be one where the explanation of the lightness of both left-handed and right-handed neutrino masses would have a common origin. In this paper we consider a variant of the gauge models based in the SU(3) C xSU(3) L xU(1) N (3-3-1) symmetry called 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos and adapt the type II seesaw mechanism in this framework. (author)

  18. In a demanding task, three-handed manipulation is preferred to two-handed manipulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdi, Elahe; Burdet, Etienne; Bouri, Mohamed; Himidan, Sharifa; Bleuler, Hannes

    2016-02-25

    Equipped with a third hand under their direct control, surgeons may be able to perform certain surgical interventions alone; this would reduce the need for a human assistant and related coordination difficulties. However, does human performance improve with three hands compared to two hands? To evaluate this possibility, we carried out a behavioural study on the performance of naive adults catching objects with three virtual hands controlled by their two hands and right foot. The subjects could successfully control the virtual hands in a few trials. With this control strategy, the workspace of the hands was inversely correlated with the task velocity. The comparison of performance between the three and two hands control revealed no significant difference of success in catching falling objects and in average effort during the tasks. Subjects preferred the three handed control strategy, found it easier, with less physical and mental burden. Although the coordination of the foot with the natural hands increased trial after trial, about two minutes of practice was not sufficient to develop a sense of ownership towards the third arm.

  19. Between-hand difference in ipsilateral deactivation is associated with hand lateralization: fMRI mapping of 284 volunteers balanced for handedness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathalie eTzourio-Mazoyer

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available In right-handers, an increase in the pace of dominant hand movement results in increased ipsilateral deactivation of the primary motor cortex (M1. By contrast, an increase in non-dominant hand movement frequency is associated with reduced ipsilateral deactivation. This pattern suggests that inhibitory processes support right hand dominance in right-handers and raises the issues of whether this phenomenon also supports left hand preference in left-handers, and/or whether it relates to asymmetry of manual ability in either group. Thanks to the BIL&GIN, a database dedicated to the investigation of hemispheric specialization, we studied the variation in M1 activity during right and left finger tapping tasks in a sample of 284 healthy participants balanced for handedness. An M1 fMRI localizer was defined for each participant as an 8 mm diameter sphere centered on the motor activation peak. Right-handers exhibited significantly larger deactivation of the ipsilateral M1 when moving their dominant hand than their non-dominant hand. In contrast, left-handers exhibited comparable ipsilateral M1 deactivation during either hand movement, reflecting a bilateral cortical specialization. This pattern is likely related to left-handers’ good performances with their right hand and consequent lower asymmetry in manual ability compared with right-handers. Finally, inter-individual analyses over the whole sample demonstrated that the larger the difference in manual skill across hands, the larger the difference in ipsilateral deactivation. Overall, we propose that difference in ipsilateral deactivation is a marker of difference in manual ability asymmetry reflecting differences in the strength of transcallosal inhibition when a given hand is moving.

  20. Role of hand dominance in mapping preferences for emotional-valence words to keypress responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Xiaolei; Chen, Jing; Proctor, Robert W

    2017-10-01

    When a crossed-hands placement (right hand presses left key; left hand presses right key) is used in a two-choice spatial reaction task, the mapping of left stimulus to left key and right stimulus to right key yields faster responses than the opposite mapping. In contrast, de la Vega, Dudschig, De Filippis, Lachmair, and Kaup (2013) reported that when right-handed individuals classified words as having positive or negative affect, there was a benefit for mapping positive affect to the right hand (left key) and negative affect to the left hand (right key). The goal of the present study was to replicate and extend this seemingly distinct finding. Experiment 1 duplicated the design of that study without including nonword "no-go" trials but including a condition in which participants performed with an uncrossed hand placement. Results corroborated the benefit for mapping positive to the right hand and negative to the left hand with the hands crossed, and this benefit was as large as that obtained with the hands uncrossed. Experiment 2 confirmed the importance of the dominant/subordinate hand distinction with left-handed participants, and Experiment 3 showed, with right-handed participants, that it does not depend on which limb is placed over the other. The results verify that the mapping advantage for positive→right/negative→left is indeed due to the distinction between dominant and subordinate hands. Possible reasons for the difference between these results and those obtained with spatial-location stimuli are considered. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Public Participation in Times of Privatisation: A Human Rights Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Temperman, Jeroen

    2011-01-01

    markdownabstract__Abstract__ Privatisation may not only affect the enjoyment of the right to public participation itself, but might also impact other substantive rights. This article charts some of the ramifications of privatisation in relation to individual human rights as enshrined in international human rights conventions, with a particular focus on the impact privatisation has on the right to public participation. The right to public participation can be seen as both an example of a funda...

  2. Comment on "Polarized window for left-right symmetry and a right-handed neutrino at the Large Hadron-Electron Collider"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Queiroz, Farinaldo S.

    2016-06-01

    Reference [1 S. Mondal and S. K. Rai, Phys. Rev. D 93, 011702 (2016).] recently argued that the projected Large Hadron Electron Collider (LHeC) presents a unique opportunity to discover a left-right symmetry since the LHeC has availability for polarized electrons. In particular, the authors apply some basic pT cuts on the jets and claim that the on-shell production of right-handed neutrinos at the LHeC, which violates lepton number in two units, has practically no standard model background and, therefore, that the right-handed nature of WR interactions that are intrinsic to left-right symmetric models can be confirmed by using colliding beams consisting of an 80% polarized electron and a 7 TeV proton. In this Comment, we show that their findings, as presented, have vastly underestimated the SM background which prevents a Left-Right symmetry signal from being seen at the LHeC.

  3. Self-reported cold sensitivity in normal subjects and in patients with traumatic hand injuries or hand-arm vibration syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dahlin Lars B

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cold sensitivity is a common and disabling complaint following hand injuries. The main purpose of this study was to describe self-reported consequences of cold sensitivity and the association with disability and health-related quality of life in patients with hand injuries or hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS and in normal subjects. Methods Responses to the Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity (CISS questionnaire, Potential Work Exposure Scale (PWES, Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH and Short-Form 36 questionnaire (SF-36 were investigated in normal subjects (n = 94, hand injured patients (amputation and nerve injuries, n = 88 and patients with HAVS (n = 30. The results are presented as median (range, percent and mean deviation from norms. The Kruskal Wallis Test or Mann-Whitney U-Test were used to identify significant differences between multiple groups or subgroups. The Spearman rank correlation was used to study the relationship between cold sensitivity and disability. Results Abnormal cold sensitivity (CISS score > 50 was seen in 75% and 45% of patients with HAVS and a traumatic hand injury, respectively. Patients were significantly more exposed to cold in their work environment than the normal population, with a consequently negative effect on work ability due to cold sensitivity. Patients with abnormal cold sensitivity were more seriously disabled and had a poorer health-related quality of life than patients with normal cold sensitivity [higher DASH scores and e.g. significantly larger mean deviation from norms in the subscales Role Physical and Bodily Pain (SF-36]. Conclusion Severe and abnormal cold sensitivity may have a profound impact on work capacity, leisure, disability and health-related quality of life. It is frequently seen in patients with traumatic hand injuries and particularly apparent in patients with HAVS.

  4. Neutrino mass, the right-handed interaction and the double beta decay, 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doi, Masaru; Kotani, Tsuneyuki; Nishiura, Hiroyuki; Okuda, Kazuko; Takasugi, Eiichi.

    1981-01-01

    Based on the formulae for the double β decay obtained in the previous paper, the general properties of 0 + → J + transitions are discussed and the analysis of the experimental data is presented. It is found that, for the two neutrino mode, the 0 + → 0 + transition in the two nucleon (2n)-mechanism dominates over the 0 + → 2 + transition as well as the contribution from the N*-mechanism. For the neutrinoless mode, only the 0 + → 0 + transition in the 2n-mechanism is allowed if there is no right-handed interaction. When the right-handed interaction gives a sizable contribution, the role of the 0 + → 2 + transition becomes as important as the 0 + → 0 + transition in this mode. It is concluded that the experimental data on the ratio of the 128 Te to 130 Te half-lives by Hennecke et al. suggest that neutrinos are Majorana particles, if we take the Vergados estimation of the nuclear matrix elements. Moreover, we find that the weighted average of neutrino masses is around 34 eV if there is no right-handed interaction. (author)

  5. Non-thermal production of minimal dark matter via right-handed neutrino decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoki, Mayumi; Toma, Takashi; Vicente, Avelino

    2015-01-01

    Minimal Dark Matter (MDM) stands as one of the simplest dark matter scenarios. In MDM models, annihilation and co-annihilation processes among the members of the MDM multiplet are usually very efficient, pushing the dark matter mass above O(10) TeV in order to reproduce the observed dark matter relic density. Motivated by this little drawback, in this paper we consider an extension of the MDM scenario by three right-handed neutrinos. Two specific choices for the MDM multiplet are studied: a fermionic SU(2) L quintuplet and a scalar SU(2) L septuplet. The lightest right-handed neutrino, with tiny Yukawa couplings, never reaches thermal equilibrium in the early universe and is produced by freeze-in. This creates a link between dark matter and neutrino physics: dark matter can be non-thermally produced by the decay of the lightest right-handed neutrino after freeze-out, allowing to lower significantly the dark matter mass. We discuss the phenomenology of the non-thermally produced MDM and, taking into account significant Sommerfeld corrections, we find that the dark matter mass must have some specific values in order not to be in conflict with the current bounds from gamma-ray observations

  6. Search for right-handed currents in muon decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jodidio, A.E.

    1986-01-01

    Limits are reported on charged right-handed currents, based on precise measurement of the endpoint e + spectrum in μ + decay. Highly polarized μ + from the TRIUMF ''surface'' muon beam were stopped in high purity metal foils and liquid He targets selected to minimize depolarization effects. Decay e + emitted within 160 mrad of the beam direction were momentum-analyzed to 0.15%. Muons were stopped within either a spin-processing transverse field (70-G or 110-G) or a spin-holding longitudinal field (0.3-T or 1.1-T). Data collected with the spin-precessing field were used for the momentum calibration of the spectrometer. The spin-held data were used to measure the relative e + rate at the endpoint. An extrapolation was made to extract the endpoint rate opposite to the μ + spin. In terms of the standard muon decay parameters this rate is given by (1-xi P/sub μ/delta/rho) where P/sub μ/ is muon polarization. The result for xi P/sub μ/delta was consistent with the V-A prediction of 1. It is quoted as a 90% confidence lower limit xi P/sub μ/delta/rho > 0.9975 since we are unable to correct for all possible sources of muon depolarization. For the model with manifest left-right symmetry and massless neutrinos the result implies 90% confidence limits m(W 2 ) > 432 GeV/c 2 and -0.050 2 is the predominantly right-handed boson and xi is the left-right mixing angle. With the assumption of no left-right mixing an equivalent 90% confidence upper limit of 0.025 is obtained on the absolute value of the ratio of a possible V+A amplitude to the dominant V-A amplitude in muon and pion decays. Limits are also deduced on the nu/sub μL/ mass and helicity in π + decay, non-(V-A) couplings in helicity projection form, the mass scale of composite leptons, and the branching ratio for → e+f where f (familon) is the neutral massless Nambu-Goldstone boson associated with flavor symmetry breaking. 39 refs., 12 figs

  7. Left, right, left, right, eyes to the front! Müller-Lyer bias in grasping is not a function of hand used, hand preferred or visual hemifield, but foveation does matter.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Kamp, J.; de Wit, M.M.; Masters, R.S.W.

    2012-01-01

    We investigated whether the control of movement of the left hand is more likely to involve the use of allocentric information than movements performed with the right hand. Previous studies (Gonzalez et al. in J Neurophys 95:3496-3501, 2006; De Grave et al. in Exp Br Res 193:421-427, 2009) have

  8. Accuracy of Outcome Anticipation, But Not Gaze Behavior, Differs Against Left- and Right-Handed Penalties in Team-Handball Goalkeeping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loffing, Florian; Sölter, Florian; Hagemann, Norbert; Strauss, Bernd

    2015-01-01

    Low perceptual familiarity with relatively rarer left-handed as opposed to more common right-handed individuals may result in athletes' poorer ability to anticipate the former's action intentions. Part of such left-right asymmetry in visual anticipation could be due to an inefficient gaze strategy during confrontation with left-handed individuals. To exemplify, observers may not mirror their gaze when viewing left- vs. right-handed actions but preferentially fixate on an opponent's right body side, irrespective of an opponent's handedness, owing to the predominant exposure to right-handed actions. So far empirical verification of such assumption, however, is lacking. Here we report on an experiment where team-handball goalkeepers' and non-goalkeepers' gaze behavior was recorded while they predicted throw direction of left- and right-handed 7-m penalties shown as videos on a computer monitor. As expected, goalkeepers were considerably more accurate than non-goalkeepers and prediction was better against right- than left-handed penalties. However, there was no indication of differences in gaze measures (i.e., number of fixations, overall and final fixation duration, time-course of horizontal or vertical fixation deviation) as a function of skill group or the penalty-takers' handedness. Findings suggest that inferior anticipation of left-handed compared to right-handed individuals' action intentions may not be associated with misalignment in gaze behavior. Rather, albeit looking similarly, accuracy differences could be due to observers' differential ability of picking up and interpreting the visual information provided by left- vs. right-handed movements.

  9. EXERCISE WITH BAD FAITH OF SUBJECTIVE CIVIL RIGHTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NICOLAE GRADINARU

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The abuse of rights is qualified as civil offence and it may not be different from that of aquilian responsibility, the purpose of its sanction is to protect the victim and not to punish the author. In the Romanian legal doctrine, the abuse of rights was defined as “the exercise of a civil subjective right by breaching the principles of its exercise.” The Constitutional Court held that the person exercising in bad faith and abusively his/her subjective or procedural rights is punishable by appropriate penalties, such as: dismissal of his/her legal action, obligation to bear the costs, application of certain court fines, etc.

  10. Right- and left-handed three-helix proteins. II. Similarity and differences in mechanical unfolding of proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glyakina, Anna V; Likhachev, Ilya V; Balabaev, Nikolay K; Galzitskaya, Oxana V

    2014-01-01

    Here, we study mechanical properties of eight 3-helix proteins (four right-handed and four left-handed ones), which are similar in size under stretching at a constant speed and at a constant force on the atomic level using molecular dynamics simulations. The analysis of 256 trajectories from molecular dynamics simulations with explicit water showed that the right-handed three-helix domains are more mechanically resistant than the left-handed domains. Such results are observed at different extension velocities studied (192 trajectories obtained at the following conditions: v = 0.1, 0.05, and 0.01 Å ps(-1) , T = 300 K) and under constant stretching force (64 trajectories, F = 800 pN, T = 300 K). We can explain this by the fact, at least in part, that the right-handed domains have a larger number of contacts per residue and the radius of cross section than the left-handed domains. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Activations in gray and white matter are modulated by uni-manual responses during within and inter-hemispheric transfer: effects of response hand and right-handedness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diwadkar, Vaibhav A; Bellani, Marcella; Chowdury, Asadur; Savazzi, Silvia; Perlini, Cinzia; Marinelli, Veronica; Zoccatelli, Giada; Alessandrini, Franco; Ciceri, Elisa; Rambaldelli, Gianluca; Ruggieri, Mirella; Carlo Altamura, A; Marzi, Carlo A; Brambilla, Paolo

    2017-08-14

    Because the visual cortices are contra-laterally organized, inter-hemispheric transfer tasks have been used to behaviorally probe how information briefly presented to one hemisphere of the visual cortex is integrated with responses resulting from the ipsi- or contra-lateral motor cortex. By forcing rapid information exchange across diverse regions, these tasks robustly activate not only gray matter regions, but also white matter tracts. It is likely that the response hand itself (dominant or non-dominant) modulates gray and white matter activations during within and inter-hemispheric transfer. Yet the role of uni-manual responses and/or right hand dominance in modulating brain activations during such basic tasks is unclear. Here we investigated how uni-manual responses with either hand modulated activations during a basic visuo-motor task (the established Poffenberger paradigm) alternating between inter- and within-hemispheric transfer conditions. In a large sample of strongly right-handed adults (n = 49), we used a factorial combination of transfer condition [Inter vs. Within] and response hand [Dominant(Right) vs. Non-Dominant (Left)] to discover fMRI-based activations in gray matter, and in narrowly defined white matter tracts. These tracts were identified using a priori probabilistic white matter atlases. Uni-manual responses with the right hand strongly modulated activations in gray matter, and notably in white matter. Furthermore, when responding with the left hand, activations during inter-hemispheric transfer were strongly predicted by the degree of right-hand dominance, with increased right-handedness predicting decreased fMRI activation. Finally, increasing age within the middle-aged sample was associated with a decrease in activations. These results provide novel evidence of complex relationships between uni-manual responses in right-handed subjects, and activations during within- and inter-hemispheric transfer suggest that the organization of the

  12. On parity conservation and the question of the 'missing' (right-handed) neutrino

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barut, A.O.; Ziino, G.

    1992-09-01

    The neutrino problem is set anew in the light of a reformulation of the Dirac field theory that provides a natural account for the effect commonly interpreted as 'P-violation', and restores P-mirror symmetry. A two-component (left-handed) neutrino field is automatically derived, whose P-mirror image does not correspond to a 'missing' particle but is the (right-handed) antineutrino field. (author). 23 refs

  13. Children's rights and school psychology: children's right to participation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lansdown, Gerison; Jimerson, Shane R; Shahroozi, Reza

    2014-02-01

    The Convention on the Rights of the Child detailed an international imperative to fulfilling, protecting, and respecting the rights of every child. In particular, the Convention set out a clear mandate for guaranteeing opportunities for children to be heard on all matters of concern to them. The attainment of these goals involves respecting and valuing children as active participants in the educational process. If fully implemented, the right of children to express views and have them taken seriously, throughout the school environment, would represent one of the most profound transformations in moving towards a culture of respect for children's rights, for their dignity and citizenship, and for their capacities to contribute significantly towards their own well-being. These values and principles are consistent with those of the school psychology profession, thus, school psychologists are encouraged to be at the Center of the process advocating and actualizing the Convention in schools throughout the world. Copyright © 2014 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Accuracy of outcome anticipation, but not gaze behavior, differs against left- and right-handed penalties in team-handball goalkeeping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian eLoffing

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Low perceptual familiarity with relatively rarer left-handed as opposed to more common right-handed individuals may result in athletes’ poorer ability to anticipate the former’s action intentions. Part of such left-right asymmetry in visual anticipation could be due to an inefficient gaze strategy during confrontation with left-handed individuals. To exemplify, observers may not mirror their gaze when viewing left- vs. right-handed actions but preferentially fixate on an opponent’s right body side, irrespective of an opponent’s handedness, owing to the predominant exposure to right-handed actions. So far empirical verification of such assumption, however, is lacking. Here we report on an experiment where team-handball goalkeepers’ and non-goalkeepers’ gaze behavior was recorded while they predicted throw direction of left- and right-handed seven-meter penalties shown as videos on a computer monitor. As expected, goalkeepers were considerably more accurate than non-goalkeepers and prediction was better against right- than left-handed penalties. However, there was no indication of differences in gaze measures (i.e., number of fixations, overall and final fixation duration, time-course of horizontal or vertical fixation deviation as a function of skill group or the penalty-takers’ handedness. Findings suggest that inferior anticipation of left-handed compared to right-handed individuals’ action intentions may not be associated with misalignment in gaze behavior. Rather, albeit looking similarly, accuracy differences could be due to observers’ differential ability of picking up and interpreting the visual information provided by left- vs. right-handed movements.

  15. Accuracy of Outcome Anticipation, But Not Gaze Behavior, Differs Against Left- and Right-Handed Penalties in Team-Handball Goalkeeping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loffing, Florian; Sölter, Florian; Hagemann, Norbert; Strauss, Bernd

    2015-01-01

    Low perceptual familiarity with relatively rarer left-handed as opposed to more common right-handed individuals may result in athletes' poorer ability to anticipate the former's action intentions. Part of such left-right asymmetry in visual anticipation could be due to an inefficient gaze strategy during confrontation with left-handed individuals. To exemplify, observers may not mirror their gaze when viewing left- vs. right-handed actions but preferentially fixate on an opponent's right body side, irrespective of an opponent's handedness, owing to the predominant exposure to right-handed actions. So far empirical verification of such assumption, however, is lacking. Here we report on an experiment where team-handball goalkeepers' and non-goalkeepers' gaze behavior was recorded while they predicted throw direction of left- and right-handed 7-m penalties shown as videos on a computer monitor. As expected, goalkeepers were considerably more accurate than non-goalkeepers and prediction was better against right- than left-handed penalties. However, there was no indication of differences in gaze measures (i.e., number of fixations, overall and final fixation duration, time-course of horizontal or vertical fixation deviation) as a function of skill group or the penalty-takers' handedness. Findings suggest that inferior anticipation of left-handed compared to right-handed individuals' action intentions may not be associated with misalignment in gaze behavior. Rather, albeit looking similarly, accuracy differences could be due to observers' differential ability of picking up and interpreting the visual information provided by left- vs. right-handed movements. PMID:26648887

  16. Right-handed currents at B→ K l+l− kinematic endpoint

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2017-10-09

    Oct 9, 2017 ... The recent LHCb measured values of these observables are used to conclude an evidence of right-handed currents at the kinematic endpoint of this decay mode. As the conclusion is drawn at the maximum dilepton invariant mass square ( q 2 ) kinematic endpoint, it relies only on heavy quark symmetries ...

  17. ODEs with Preisach operator under the derivative and with discontinuous in time right-hand side

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhezherun, A; Flynn, D

    2006-01-01

    We consider ordinary Differential equations with a Preisach operator under the derivative. A special case when the right-hand side has discontinuities in time is studied. We present theorems about the existence and uniqueness of solutions. We also prove a theorem which describes the behavior of a solution at the points of discontinuity of the right-hand side

  18. Leisure participation and subjective well-being: Exploring gender differences among elderly in Shanghai, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei; Feng, Qiushi; Lacanienta, Joy; Zhen, Zhihong

    To explore the association between leisure participation and subjective well-being and the role gender in this issue among elderly Chinese in Shanghai, China. Principal components analysis and logistic regressions are used to analyze the cross-sectional data of the 2013 Shanghai Elderly Life and Opinion Survey that contains 2884 respondents (60+ with a mean age of 72.6) recruited from a multistage cluster sampling design. Subjective well-being is measured by happiness and life satisfaction, and leisure participation is examined by the type and diversity of leisure activities. Principal components analysis identifies four major types of leisure activity that elderly Chinese are actively engaged in-detachment-recovery, aesthetic, social, and performing-arts activities. Among them, social activities and performing-arts activities have the most relevance to subjective well-being. Females are more likely to engage in social and performing-arts activities whereas males are more likely to engage in detachment-recovery and aesthetic activities. Performing-arts activities promote subjective well-being only for females. Social activities are beneficial for both gender groups, but more so for males than for females. While increased levels of leisure diversity are linearly related to increased odds of subjective well-being for females, moderate level of leisure diversity is found to be the most important for males. Leisure participation is positively related to subjective well-being among elderly Chinese, and thus could play a critical role in promoting healthy aging. The major gender differences as observed suggest the need to further explore gender-specific barriers in leisure participation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Non-thermal production of minimal dark matter via right-handed neutrino decay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aoki, Mayumi [Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kanazawa University,Kanazawa 920-1192 (Japan); Toma, Takashi [Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, CNRS - UMR 8627, Université de Paris-Sud 11,F-91405 Orsay Cedex (France); Vicente, Avelino [IFPA, Dep. AGO, Université de Liège,Bat B5, Sart-Tilman B-4000 Liège 1 (Belgium); Instituto de Física Corpuscular, CSIC-Universitat de València,Apdo. 22085, E-46071 Valencia (Spain)

    2015-09-29

    Minimal Dark Matter (MDM) stands as one of the simplest dark matter scenarios. In MDM models, annihilation and co-annihilation processes among the members of the MDM multiplet are usually very efficient, pushing the dark matter mass above O(10) TeV in order to reproduce the observed dark matter relic density. Motivated by this little drawback, in this paper we consider an extension of the MDM scenario by three right-handed neutrinos. Two specific choices for the MDM multiplet are studied: a fermionic SU(2){sub L} quintuplet and a scalar SU(2){sub L} septuplet. The lightest right-handed neutrino, with tiny Yukawa couplings, never reaches thermal equilibrium in the early universe and is produced by freeze-in. This creates a link between dark matter and neutrino physics: dark matter can be non-thermally produced by the decay of the lightest right-handed neutrino after freeze-out, allowing to lower significantly the dark matter mass. We discuss the phenomenology of the non-thermally produced MDM and, taking into account significant Sommerfeld corrections, we find that the dark matter mass must have some specific values in order not to be in conflict with the current bounds from gamma-ray observations.

  20. Non-thermal production of minimal dark matter via right-handed neutrino decay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aoki, Mayumi [Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192 (Japan); Toma, Takashi [Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, CNRS - UMR 8627, Université de Paris-Sud 11, F-91405 Orsay Cedex (France); Vicente, Avelino, E-mail: mayumi@hep.s.kanazawa-u.ac.jp, E-mail: takashi.toma@th.u-psud.fr, E-mail: Avelino.Vicente@ulg.ac.be [IFPA, Dep. AGO, Université de Liège, Bat B5, Sart-Tilman B-4000 Liège 1 (Belgium)

    2015-09-01

    Minimal Dark Matter (MDM) stands as one of the simplest dark matter scenarios. In MDM models, annihilation and co-annihilation processes among the members of the MDM multiplet are usually very efficient, pushing the dark matter mass above O(10) TeV in order to reproduce the observed dark matter relic density. Motivated by this little drawback, in this paper we consider an extension of the MDM scenario by three right-handed neutrinos. Two specific choices for the MDM multiplet are studied: a fermionic SU(2){sub L} quintuplet and a scalar SU(2){sub L} septuplet. The lightest right-handed neutrino, with tiny Yukawa couplings, never reaches thermal equilibrium in the early universe and is produced by freeze-in. This creates a link between dark matter and neutrino physics: dark matter can be non-thermally produced by the decay of the lightest right-handed neutrino after freeze-out, allowing to lower significantly the dark matter mass. We discuss the phenomenology of the non-thermally produced MDM and, taking into account significant Sommerfeld corrections, we find that the dark matter mass must have some specific values in order not to be in conflict with the current bounds from gamma-ray observations.

  1. Representation of Patients' Hand Modulates Fear Reactions of Patients with Spider Phobia in Virtual Reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peperkorn, Henrik M; Diemer, Julia E; Alpers, Georg W; Mühlberger, Andreas

    2016-01-01

    Embodiment (i.e., the involvement of a bodily representation) is thought to be relevant in emotional experiences. Virtual reality (VR) is a capable means of activating phobic fear in patients. The representation of the patient's body (e.g., the right hand) in VR enhances immersion and increases presence, but its effect on phobic fear is still unknown. We analyzed the influence of the presentation of the participant's hand in VR on presence and fear responses in 32 women with spider phobia and 32 matched controls. Participants sat in front of a table with an acrylic glass container within reaching distance. During the experiment this setup was concealed by a head-mounted display (HMD). The VR scenario presented via HMD showed the same setup, i.e., a table with an acrylic glass container. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups. In one group, fear responses were triggered by fear-relevant visual input in VR (virtual spider in the virtual acrylic glass container), while information about a real but unseen neutral control animal (living snake in the acrylic glass container) was given. The second group received fear-relevant information of the real but unseen situation (living spider in the acrylic glass container), but visual input was kept neutral VR (virtual snake in the virtual acrylic glass container). Participants were instructed to touch the acrylic glass container with their right hand in 20 consecutive trials. Visibility of the hand was varied randomly in a within-subjects design. We found for all participants that visibility of the participant's hand increased presence independently of the fear trigger. However, in patients, the influence of the virtual hand on fear depended on the fear trigger. When fear was triggered perceptually, i.e., by a virtual spider, the virtual hand increased fear. When fear was triggered by information about a real spider, the virtual hand had no effect on fear. Our results shed light on the

  2. 29 CFR 417.10 - Rights of participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Rights of participants. 417.10 Section 417.10 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor OFFICE OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT STANDARDS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR LABOR-MANAGEMENT.... Every interested person shall have the right to present oral or documentary evidence, to submit evidence...

  3. Search for right-handed currents by means of muon spin rotation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoker, D.P.

    1985-01-01

    A muon spin rotation (μSR) technique has been used to place limits on right-handed weak currents in μ + decay. A beam of almost 100% polarized surface muons obtained from the TRIUMF M13 beamline was stopped in essentially non-depolarizing >99.99% pure metal foils. The μ + spins were precessed by 70-G or 110-G transverse fields. Decay e + emitted within 225 mrad of the beam direction and with momenta above 46 MeV/c were momentum-analyzed to 0.2%. Comparison of the μSR signal amplitude with that expected for (V-A) decay yields an endpoint asymmetry XiP/sub μ/δ/rho > 0.9951 with 90% confidence. In the context of manifest left-right symmetric models with massless neutrinos the results imply the 90% confidence limits M(W 2 ) > 381 GeV/c 2 and -0.057 2 is a predominantly right-handed gauge boson and zeta is the left-right mixing angle. Limits on M(W 2 ) for M(nu/sub μR/) does not equal 0 are also presented. The endpoint asymmetry is used to deduce limits on the nu/sub μL/ mass and helicity in π + decay, non-(V-A) couplings in helicity projection form, and the mass scale of composite leptons

  4. Search for right-handed currents by means of muon spin rotation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoker, D.P.

    1985-09-01

    A muon spin rotation (μSR) technique has been used to place limits on right-handed weak currents in μ + decay. A beam of almost 100% polarized 'surface' muons obtained from the TRIUMF M13 beamline was stopped in essentially non-depolarizing >99.99% pure metal foils. The μ + spins were precessed by 70-G or 110-G transverse fields. Decay e + emitted within 225 mrad of the beam direction and with momenta above 46 MeV/c were momentum-analyzed to 0.2%. Comparison of the μSR signal amplitude with that expected for (V-A) decay yields an endpoint asymmetry xiPμdelta/rho>0.9951 with 90% confidence. In the context of manifest left-right symmetric models with massless neutrinos the results imply the 90% confidence limits M(W 2 )>381 GeV/c 2 and -0.057 2 is a predominantly right-handed gauge boson and zeta is the left-right mixing angle. Limits on M(W 2 ) for M(nu/sub μR) is not equal to 0 are also presented. The endpoint asymmetry is used to deduce limits on the nu/sub nu/sub μL/ mass and helicity in π + decay, non-(V-A) couplings in helicity projection form, and the mass scale of composite leptons

  5. Body ownership and the four-hand illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wen-Yeo; Huang, Hsu-Chia; Lee, Yen-Tung; Liang, Caleb

    2018-02-01

    Recent studies of the rubber hand illusion (RHI) have shown that the sense of body ownership is constrained by several factors and yet is still very flexible. However, exactly how flexible is our sense of body ownership? In this study, we address this issue by investigating the following question: is it possible that one may have the illusory experience of owning four hands? Under visual manipulation, the participant adopted the experimenter's first-person perspective (1PP) as if it was his/her own. Sitting face to face, the participant saw four hands-the experimenter's two hands from the adopted 1PP together with the subject's own two hands from the adopted third-person perspective (3PP). We found that: (1) the four-hand illusion did not occur in the passive four-hand condition. (2) In the active four-hand condition, the participants tapped their index fingers, imitated by the experimenter. When tactile stimulations were not provided, the key illusion was not induced, either. (3) Strikingly, once all four hands began to act with the same pattern and received synchronous tactile stimulations at the same time, many participants felt as if they had two more hands. These results show that the sense of body ownership is much more flexible than most researchers have suggested.

  6. Right hemispheric language dominance in a right-handed male with a right frontal tumor shown by functional transcranial Doppler sonography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haag, A; Preibisch, C; Sure, U; Knake, S; Heinze, S; Krakow, K; Rosenow, F; Hamer, H M

    2006-02-01

    A 38-year-old, right-handed man with late-onset right frontal epilepsy due to a ganglioglioma and atypical right hemispheric language dominance is described. Language dominance was investigated with functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD), and language localization with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During a word generation task, fTCD showed atypical right hemispheric language dominance, which was confirmed by fMRI using a semantic word comparison and a word stem completion task. This information helped to guide the resective procedure, which left the patient seizure-free and did not induce new deficits. Functional TCD appears to be a useful and reliable screening tool for determining hemispheric language dominance, even in patients with atypical language representation. Functional MRI may be used to confirm fTCD results and further localize eloquent cortex.

  7. Stimulating Participation and Learning in Microbiology: Presence and Identification of Bacteria from Student's Hands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antunes, Patrícia

    2016-01-01

    We proposed in the Basic Microbiology Subject for food science and nutrition students, a "hands-on" activity consisting on sampling student's hands for bacterial presence and identification. This is a project to be implemented in multiple laboratory classes throughout the semester, allowing students to learn, and apply general…

  8. PARTICLE SCATTERING OFF OF RIGHT-HANDED DISPERSIVE WAVES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schreiner, C.; Kilian, P.; Spanier, F., E-mail: cschreiner@astro.uni-wuerzburg.de [Centre for Space Research, North-West University, 2520 Potchefstroom (South Africa)

    2017-01-10

    Resonant scattering of fast particles off low frequency plasma waves is a major process determining transport characteristics of energetic particles in the heliosphere and contributing to their acceleration. Usually, only Alfvén waves are considered for this process, although dispersive waves are also present throughout the heliosphere. We investigate resonant interaction of energetic electrons with dispersive, right-handed waves. For the interaction of particles and a single wave a variable transformation into the rest frame of the wave can be performed. Here, well-established analytic models derived in the framework of magnetostatic quasi-linear theory can be used as a reference to validate simulation results. However, this approach fails as soon as several dispersive waves are involved. Based on analytic solutions modeling the scattering amplitude in the magnetostatic limit, we present an approach to modify these equations for use in the plasma frame. Thereby we aim at a description of particle scattering in the presence of several waves. A particle-in-cell code is employed to study wave–particle scattering on a micro-physically correct level and to test the modified model equations. We investigate the interactions of electrons at different energies (from 1 keV to 1 MeV) and right-handed waves with various amplitudes. Differences between model and simulation arise in the case of high amplitudes or several waves. Analyzing the trajectories of single particles we find no microscopic diffusion in the case of a single plasma wave, although a broadening of the particle distribution can be observed.

  9. Functional Anatomy of Writing with the Dominant Hand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najee-ullah, Muslimah ‘Ali; Hallett, Mark

    2013-01-01

    While writing performed by any body part is similar in style, indicating a common program, writing with the dominant hand is particularly skilled. We hypothesized that this skill utilizes a special motor network supplementing the motor equivalence areas. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 13 normal subjects, we studied nine conditions: writing, zigzagging and tapping, each with the right hand, left hand and right foot. We identified brain regions activated with the right (dominant) hand writing task, exceeding the activation common to right-hand use and the writing program, both identified without right-hand writing itself. Right-hand writing significantly differed from the other tasks. First, we observed stronger activations in the left dorsal prefrontal cortex, left intraparietal sulcus and right cerebellum. Second, the left anterior putamen was required to initiate all the tested tasks, but only showed sustained activation during the right-hand writing condition. Lastly, an exploratory analysis showed clusters in the left ventral premotor cortex and inferior and superior parietal cortices were only significantly active for right-hand writing. The increased activation with right-hand writing cannot be ascribed to increased effort, since this is a well-practiced task much easier to perform than some of the other tasks studied. Because parietal-premotor connections code for particular skills, it would seem that the parietal and premotor regions, together with basal ganglia-sustained activation likely underlie the special skill of handwriting with the dominant hand. PMID:23844132

  10. Functional anatomy of writing with the dominant hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horovitz, Silvina G; Gallea, Cecile; Najee-Ullah, Muslimah 'ali; Hallett, Mark

    2013-01-01

    While writing performed by any body part is similar in style, indicating a common program, writing with the dominant hand is particularly skilled. We hypothesized that this skill utilizes a special motor network supplementing the motor equivalence areas. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 13 normal subjects, we studied nine conditions: writing, zigzagging and tapping, each with the right hand, left hand and right foot. We identified brain regions activated with the right (dominant) hand writing task, exceeding the activation common to right-hand use and the writing program, both identified without right-hand writing itself. Right-hand writing significantly differed from the other tasks. First, we observed stronger activations in the left dorsal prefrontal cortex, left intraparietal sulcus and right cerebellum. Second, the left anterior putamen was required to initiate all the tested tasks, but only showed sustained activation during the right-hand writing condition. Lastly, an exploratory analysis showed clusters in the left ventral premotor cortex and inferior and superior parietal cortices were only significantly active for right-hand writing. The increased activation with right-hand writing cannot be ascribed to increased effort, since this is a well-practiced task much easier to perform than some of the other tasks studied. Because parietal-premotor connections code for particular skills, it would seem that the parietal and premotor regions, together with basal ganglia-sustained activation likely underlie the special skill of handwriting with the dominant hand.

  11. Neutrino mass, the right-handed interaction and the double beta decay, 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doi, Masaru; Kotani, Tsuneyuki; Nishiura, Hiroyuki; Okuda, Kazuko; Takasugi, Eiichi.

    1981-01-01

    In order to shed light on the important question whether neutrinos are Dirac or Majorana particles, the double β decay is investigated within a general form of weak interaction Hamiltonian. The systematic study is made on the 0 + → J + nuclear transitions for the two-neutrino and neutrinoless modes both in the two-nucleon- and N*-mechanism. It is shown that for the neutrinoless mode, only the 0 + → 0 + transition in the two-nucleon mechanism is allowed if there is no right-handed interaction. When the right-handed interaction gives a sizable contribution, the role of the 0 + → 2 + transition becomes as important as the 0 + → 0 + transition. The comparison of our results with the previous ones is also presented. (author)

  12. A Hands-On Approach To Teaching Microcontroller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Che Fai Yeong

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Practice and application-oriented approach in education is important, and some research on active learning and cooperative problem-solving have shown that a student will learn faster and develop communication skill, leadership and team work through these methods. This paper presents a study of student preference and performance while learning the microcontroller subject with a 2-day curriculum that emphasized on hands-on approach. The curriculum uses the PIC16F877A microcontroller and participants learned to develop basic circuits and several other applications. Programming was completed on the MPLAB platform. Results show that participants had better understanding in this subject after attending the hands-on course.

  13. Statistical sensitivity on right-handed currents in presence of eV scale sterile neutrinos with KATRIN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinbrink, Nicholas M. N.; Glück, Ferenc; Heizmann, Florian; Kleesiek, Marco; Valerius, Kathrin; Weinheimer, Christian; Hannestad, Steen

    2017-06-01

    The KATRIN experiment aims to determine the absolute neutrino mass by measuring the endpoint region of the tritium β-spectrum. As a large-scale experiment with a sharp energy resolution, high source luminosity and low background it may also be capable of testing certain theories of neutrino interactions beyond the standard model (SM). An example of a non-SM interaction are right-handed currents mediated by right-handed W bosons in the left-right symmetric model (LRSM). In this extension of the SM, an additional SU(2)R symmetry in the high-energy limit is introduced, which naturally includes sterile neutrinos and predicts the seesaw mechanism. In tritium β decay, this leads to an additional term from interference between left- and right-handed interactions, which enhances or suppresses certain regions near the endpoint of the beta spectrum. In this work, the sensitivity of KATRIN to right-handed currents is estimated for the scenario of a light sterile neutrino with a mass of some eV. This analysis has been performed with a Bayesian analysis using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). The simulations show that, in principle, KATRIN will be able to set sterile neutrino mass-dependent limits on the interference strength. The sensitivity is significantly increased if the Q value of the β decay can be sufficiently constrained. However, the sensitivity is not high enough to improve current upper limits from right-handed W boson searches at the LHC.

  14. Statistical sensitivity on right-handed currents in presence of eV scale sterile neutrinos with KATRIN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steinbrink, Nicholas M.N.; Weinheimer, Christian; Glück, Ferenc; Valerius, Kathrin; Heizmann, Florian; Kleesiek, Marco; Hannestad, Steen

    2017-01-01

    The KATRIN experiment aims to determine the absolute neutrino mass by measuring the endpoint region of the tritium β-spectrum. As a large-scale experiment with a sharp energy resolution, high source luminosity and low background it may also be capable of testing certain theories of neutrino interactions beyond the standard model (SM). An example of a non-SM interaction are right-handed currents mediated by right-handed W bosons in the left-right symmetric model (LRSM). In this extension of the SM, an additional SU(2) R symmetry in the high-energy limit is introduced, which naturally includes sterile neutrinos and predicts the seesaw mechanism. In tritium β decay, this leads to an additional term from interference between left- and right-handed interactions, which enhances or suppresses certain regions near the endpoint of the beta spectrum. In this work, the sensitivity of KATRIN to right-handed currents is estimated for the scenario of a light sterile neutrino with a mass of some eV. This analysis has been performed with a Bayesian analysis using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). The simulations show that, in principle, KATRIN will be able to set sterile neutrino mass-dependent limits on the interference strength. The sensitivity is significantly increased if the Q value of the β decay can be sufficiently constrained. However, the sensitivity is not high enough to improve current upper limits from right-handed W boson searches at the LHC.

  15. Statistical sensitivity on right-handed currents in presence of eV scale sterile neutrinos with KATRIN

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steinbrink, Nicholas M.N.; Weinheimer, Christian [Institute for Nuclear Physics, University of Münster, Wilhelm Klemm-Str. 9, 41849 Münster (Germany); Glück, Ferenc; Valerius, Kathrin [Institute for Nuclear Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Heizmann, Florian; Kleesiek, Marco [Institute of Experimental Nuclear Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Hannestad, Steen, E-mail: n.steinbrink@uni-muenster.de, E-mail: ferenc.glueck@kit.edu, E-mail: florian.heizmann@kit.edu, E-mail: marco.kleesiek@kit.edu, E-mail: kathrin.valerius@kit.edu, E-mail: weinheimer@uni-muenster.de, E-mail: steen@phys.au.dk [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark)

    2017-06-01

    The KATRIN experiment aims to determine the absolute neutrino mass by measuring the endpoint region of the tritium β-spectrum. As a large-scale experiment with a sharp energy resolution, high source luminosity and low background it may also be capable of testing certain theories of neutrino interactions beyond the standard model (SM). An example of a non-SM interaction are right-handed currents mediated by right-handed W bosons in the left-right symmetric model (LRSM). In this extension of the SM, an additional SU(2){sub R} symmetry in the high-energy limit is introduced, which naturally includes sterile neutrinos and predicts the seesaw mechanism. In tritium β decay, this leads to an additional term from interference between left- and right-handed interactions, which enhances or suppresses certain regions near the endpoint of the beta spectrum. In this work, the sensitivity of KATRIN to right-handed currents is estimated for the scenario of a light sterile neutrino with a mass of some eV. This analysis has been performed with a Bayesian analysis using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). The simulations show that, in principle, KATRIN will be able to set sterile neutrino mass-dependent limits on the interference strength. The sensitivity is significantly increased if the Q value of the β decay can be sufficiently constrained. However, the sensitivity is not high enough to improve current upper limits from right-handed W boson searches at the LHC.

  16. Laterality and body ownership : Effect of handedness on experience of the rubber hand illusion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smit, M|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/37432719X; Kooistra, D I; van der Ham, I J M|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304822809; Dijkerman, H C|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304829757

    2017-01-01

    Body ownership has mainly been linked to the right hemisphere and larger interhemispheric connectivity has been shown to be associated with greater right hemispheric activation. Mixed-handed participants tend to have more interhemispheric connectivity compared to extreme handed participants. The aim

  17. [Hand fine motor skills and use of both hand and arm in subjects after a stroke: a systematic review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostolaza, M; Abudarham, J; Dilascio, S; Drault-Boedo, E; Gallo, S; Garcete, A; Kramer, M; Maiaru, M; Mendelevich, A; Modica, M; Peralta, F; Sanchez-Correa, C

    2017-04-01

    In clinical practice it is important to be able to assess the function of the upper limb of the patient who has suffered a stroke. There is currently no systemic review that could identify assessment tools for the 'fine use of the hand' and 'use of both hand and arm'. Primary, to identify observational tools which can assess the fine use of the hand and the use of both hand and arm in patients with stroke sequels. Secondary, to analyze the bias risk in the included articles, describing and categorizing the clinical utility, validity and reliability. A search was carried in Medline, LILACS, SciELO and Open Grey, which included articles published until October 2015. Studies that validate assessing tools of the upper limb in subjects with a stroke sequel which evaluate the fine use of the hand and the use of both hand and arm were included. Eleven tools in evaluate observational haven been selected, which assess the fine use of the hand and the use of hand and arm. In every case both validity and reliability have been reported, but clinical utility has been less considered for assessment. The studies that researched these tools showed a high risk of bias in their development. ARAT-19 showed a lower bias risk, but when it has to do with applicability and the reference trial is taken into account, the level of concern is high.

  18. Leptogenesis from heavy right-handed neutrinos in CPT violating backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bossingham, Thomas; Mavromatos, Nick E.; Sarkar, Sarben

    2018-02-01

    We discuss leptogenesis in a model with heavy right-handed Majorana neutrinos propagating in a constant but otherwise generic CPT-violating axial time-like background (motivated by string theory). At temperatures much higher than the temperature of the electroweak phase transition, we solve approximately, but analytically (using Padé approximants), the corresponding Boltzmann equations, which describe the generation of lepton asymmetry from the tree-level decays of heavy neutrinos into Standard Model leptons. At such temperatures these leptons are effectively massless. The current work completes in a rigorous way a preliminary treatment of the same system, by some of the present authors. In this earlier work, lepton asymmetry was crudely estimated considering the decay of a right-handed neutrino at rest. Our present analysis includes thermal momentum modes for the heavy neutrino and this leads to a total lepton asymmetry which is bigger by a factor of two as compared to the previous estimate. Nevertheless, our current and preliminary results for the freezeout are found to be in agreement (within a ˜ 12.5% uncertainty). Our analysis depends on a novel use of Padé approximants to solve the Boltzmann equations and may be more widely useful in cosmology.

  19. Leptogenesis from heavy right-handed neutrinos in CPT violating backgrounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bossingham, Thomas; Sarkar, Sarben [King' s College London, Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology Group, Department of Physics, London (United Kingdom); Mavromatos, Nick E. [King' s College London, Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology Group, Department of Physics, London (United Kingdom); Universitat de Valencia-CSIC, Departament de Fisica Teorica y IFIC, Valencia (Spain)

    2018-02-15

    We discuss leptogenesis in a model with heavy right-handed Majorana neutrinos propagating in a constant but otherwise generic CPT-violating axial time-like background (motivated by string theory). At temperatures much higher than the temperature of the electroweak phase transition, we solve approximately, but analytically (using Pade approximants), the corresponding Boltzmann equations, which describe the generation of lepton asymmetry from the tree-level decays of heavy neutrinos into Standard Model leptons. At such temperatures these leptons are effectively massless. The current work completes in a rigorous way a preliminary treatment of the same system, by some of the present authors. In this earlier work, lepton asymmetry was crudely estimated considering the decay of a right-handed neutrino at rest. Our present analysis includes thermal momentum modes for the heavy neutrino and this leads to a total lepton asymmetry which is bigger by a factor of two as compared to the previous estimate. Nevertheless, our current and preliminary results for the freezeout are found to be in agreement (within a ∝ 12.5% uncertainty). Our analysis depends on a novel use of Pade approximants to solve the Boltzmann equations and may be more widely useful in cosmology. (orig.)

  20. Crossed aphasia following cerebral infarction in a right-handed patient with atypical cerebral language dominance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Xiaoping; Guo, Yang; Dun, Saihong; Sun, Hongzan

    2018-05-18

    Crossed aphasia (CA), usually referred to as an acquired language disturbance, is caused by a lesion in the cerebral hemisphere ipsilateral to the dominant hand, and the exact mechanism is not clear. The development of handedness is influenced by education and training and the impact of habitualization, while language is more susceptible to the impact of speech habits, and it is not absolutely accurate to judge cerebral language dominance by the degree of hand preference. We describe a case of CA after right hemispheric stroke in a right-handed patient with atypical language dominance and attempt to analyze the mechanism of CA based on functional imaging methods, including arterial spin labeling (ASL) and positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MRI). Brain MRI at 24 h after admission showed a large cerebral infarction in the right cerebral hemisphere, including the posteroinferior part of Broca's area in the right frontal lobe, the right temporal lobe, and the right occipital lobe. The patient exhibited a non-fluent aphasia on a standard language test (the Aphasia Battery of Chinese [ABC]) performed on the 7th day after onset. Thus, atypical language dominance was suspected. One week after admission, ASL imaging showed high perfusion in the infarct core zone and low perfusion in the left cerebellar hemisphere. Two months later, PET/MRI demonstrated low metabolism in the posterior frontal lobe, temporal lobe, temporal occipital junction area, and the right basal ganglia. The findings suggest that the patient has right-sided cerebral language dominance, or that both hemispheres have linguistic functions. Not all patients show linguistic capabilities on the side opposite hand preference. The language dominance should be predicted by a combination of clinical manifestations and functional imaging techniques.

  1. The Child as a Subject of Rights and Children’s Literary Writing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Ruiz Silva

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17227/01234870.41folios23.35 This paper focuses especially on the imagination of children and their written expression. An action-research project about children as subjects of rights was carried out, where the centerpiece were the stories written by fourth graders (mostly 8 years old from a public elementary school in Bogotá. The stories talked around children’s violated, defiled, screened, and, in some cases, restored rights. The different sections of the paper refer to aspects concerning the origin, context, basis, and development of this pedagogical-research experience, as well as the main findings, which could not be other than the same literary production of the children who participated in the experience.

  2. Do right-handed monkeys use the right cheek pouch before the left?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madhur Mangalam

    Full Text Available There can be several factors that are likely to have played a role in the evolution of hand preference in humans and non-human primates, which the existing theories do not consider. There exists a possibility that hand preference in non-human primates evolved from the pre-existing lateralities in more elementary brain functions and behavior, or alternatively, the two coevolved. A basic example can be a hand-mouth command system that could have evolved in the context of ingestion. In the present study, we examined the relationship between lateralities in prehension and mastication processes, that is, hand and cheek pouch usage, in free-ranging bonnet macaques, Macaca radiata. The macaques preferentially used one hand-the 'preferred' hand, to pick up the bananas lying on the ground. Lateralities in hand and cheek pouch usage (for both filling and emptying were positively related with each other, that is, the macaques used the cheek pouch corresponding to the preferred hand predominantly and before the other. Moreover, when the macaques used the non-preferred hand to pick up the bananas, the frequency of contralateral cheek pouch usage was higher than the frequency of ipsilateral cheek pouch usage, that is, the combined structure of hand, mouth, and food did not influence the relationship between laterality in hand usage and laterality in cheek pouch usage. These findings demonstrate laterality in a relatively more involuntary function than those explored previously in any non-human primate species (e.g., facial expressions and manual gestures.

  3. Clinical psychomotor skills among left and right handed medical students: are the left-handed medical students left out?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alnassar, Sami; Alrashoudi, Aljoharah Nasser; Alaqeel, Mody; Alotaibi, Hala; Alkahel, Alanoud; Hajjar, Waseem; Al-Shaikh, Ghadeer; Alsaif, Abdulaziz; Haque, Shafiul; Meo, Sultan Ayoub

    2016-03-22

    There is a growing perception that the left handed (LH) medical students are facing difficulties while performing the clinical tasks that involve psychomotor skill, although the evidence is very limited and diverse. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical psychomotor skills among Right-handed (RH) and left-handed (LH) medical students. For this study, 54 (27 left handed and 27 right handed) first year medical students were selected. They were trained for different clinical psychomotor skills including suturing, laparoscopy, intravenous cannulation and urinary catheterization under the supervision of certified instructors. All students were evaluated for psychomotor skills by different instructors. The comparative performance of the students was measured by using a global rating scale, each selected criteria was allotted 5-points score with the total score of 25. There were no significant differences in the performance of psychomotor skills among LH and RH medical students. The global rating score obtained by medical students in suturing techniques was: LH 15.89 ± 2.88, RH 16.15 ± 2.75 (p = 0.737), cannulation techniques LH 20.44 ± 2.81, RH 20.70 ± 2.56 (p = 0.725), urinary catheterization LH 4.33 ± 0.96 RH 4.11 ± 1.05 (p = 0.421). For laparoscopic skills total peg transfer time was shorter among LH medical students compared to RH medical students (LH 129.85 ± 80.87 s vs RH 135.52 ± 104.81 s) (p = 0.825). However, both RH and LH students completed their procedure within the stipulated time. Among LH and RH medical students no significant difference was observed in performing the common surgical psychomotor skills. Surgical skills for LH or RH might not be a result of innate dexterity but rather the academic environment in which they are trained and assessed. Early laterality-related mentoring in medical schools as well as during the clinical residency might reduce the inconveniences faced by the left-handed

  4. Right-handed neutrinos at CERN LHC and the mechanism of neutrino mass generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kersten, Joern; Smirnov, Alexei Yu.

    2007-01-01

    We consider the possibility to detect right-handed neutrinos, which are mostly singlets of the standard model gauge group, at future accelerators. Substantial mixing of these neutrinos with the active neutrinos requires a cancellation of different contributions to the light neutrino mass matrix at the level of 10 -8 . We discuss possible symmetries behind this cancellation and argue that for three right-handed neutrinos they always lead to conservation of total lepton number. Light neutrino masses can be generated by small perturbations violating these symmetries. In the most general case, LHC physics and the mechanism of neutrino mass generation are essentially decoupled; with additional assumptions, correlations can appear between collider observables and features of the neutrino mass matrix

  5. Hand aperture patterns in prehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bongers, Raoul M; Zaal, Frank T J M; Jeannerod, Marc

    2012-06-01

    Although variations in the standard prehensile pattern can be found in the literature, these alternative patterns have never been studied systematically. This was the goal of the current paper. Ten participants picked up objects with a pincer grip. Objects (3, 5, or 7cm in diameter) were placed at 30, 60, 90, or 120cm from the hands' starting location. Usually the hand was opened gradually to a maximum immediately followed by hand closing, called the standard hand opening pattern. In the alternative opening patterns the hand opening was bumpy, or the hand aperture stayed at a plateau before closing started. Two participants in particular delayed the start of grasping with respect to start of reaching, with the delay time increasing with object distance. For larger object distances and smaller object sizes, the bumpy and plateau hand opening patterns were used more often. We tentatively concluded that the alternative hand opening patterns extended the hand opening phase, to arrive at the appropriate hand aperture at the appropriate time to close the hand for grasping the object. Variations in hand opening patterns deserve attention because this might lead to new insights into the coordination of reaching and grasping. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Rubber hand illusion, empathy, and schizotypal experiences in terms of self-other representations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asai, Tomohisa; Mao, Zhu; Sugimori, Eriko; Tanno, Yoshihiko

    2011-12-01

    When participants observed a rubber hand being touched, their sense of touch was activated (rubber hand illusion: RHI). While this illusion might be caused by multi-modal integration, it may also be related to empathic function, which enables us to simulate the observed information. We examined individual differences in the RHI, including empathic and schizotypal personality traits, as previous research had suggested that schizophrenic patients would be more subject to the RHI. The results indicated that people who experience a stronger RHI might have stronger empathic and schizotypal personalites simultaneously. We discussed these relationships in terms of self-other representations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Right- and left-handed three-helix proteins. I. Experimental and simulation analysis of differences in folding and structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glyakina, Anna V; Pereyaslavets, Leonid B; Galzitskaya, Oxana V

    2013-09-01

    Despite the large number of publications on three-helix protein folding, there is no study devoted to the influence of handedness on the rate of three-helix protein folding. From the experimental studies, we make a conclusion that the left-handed three-helix proteins fold faster than the right-handed ones. What may explain this difference? An important question arising in this paper is whether the modeling of protein folding can catch the difference between the protein folding rates of proteins with similar structures but with different folding mechanisms. To answer this question, the folding of eight three-helix proteins (four right-handed and four left-handed), which are similar in size, was modeled using the Monte Carlo and dynamic programming methods. The studies allowed us to determine the orders of folding of the secondary-structure elements in these domains and amino acid residues which are important for the folding. The obtained data are in good correlation with each other and with the experimental data. Structural analysis of these proteins demonstrated that the left-handed domains have a lesser number of contacts per residue and a smaller radius of cross section than the right-handed domains. This may be one of the explanations of the observed fact. The same tendency is observed for the large dataset consisting of 332 three-helix proteins (238 right- and 94 left-handed). From our analysis, we found that the left-handed three-helix proteins have some less-dense packing that should result in faster folding for some proteins as compared to the case of right-handed proteins. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Dark matter annihilation into right-handed neutrinos and the galactic center gamma-ray excess

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Yi-Lei [Center for High Energy Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871 (China); Zhu, Shou-hua [Center for High Energy Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871 (China); Institute of Theoretical Physics State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology,Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter,Beijing 100871 (China)

    2016-03-08

    In this paper, we will discuss a specific case that the dark matter particles annihilate into right-handed neutrinos. We calculate the predicted gamma-ray excess from the galactic center and compare our results with the data from the Fermi-LAT. An approximately 10–60 GeV right-handed neutrino with heavier dark matter particle can perfectly explain the observed spectrum. The annihilation cross section 〈σv〉 falls within the range 0.5–4×10{sup −26} cm{sup 3}/s, which is roughly compatible with the WIMP annihilation cross section.

  9. Search for heavy neutral leptons, right-handed neutrinos and long-lived particles with the CMS detector

    CERN Document Server

    Negro, Giulia

    2018-01-01

    A selection of recent CMS results on heavy neutral leptons, right-handed neutrinos and long-lived particles is reported. The search for heavy neutral leptons in the trilepton channel and in the same-sign dilepton channel, the search of a $W_R$ decaying into two leptons and two jets through a right-handed neutrino, and the searches on stopped long-lived particles and disappearing tracks are presented.

  10. Search for heavy neutrinos and bosons with right-handed couplings in proton-proton collisions at

    Science.gov (United States)

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V.; Vinogradov, A.; Belyaev, A.; Boos, E.; Bunichev, V.; Dubinin, M.; Dudko, L.; Ershov, A.; Gribushin, A.; Klyukhin, V.; Kodolova, O.; Lokhtin, I.; Obraztsov, S.; Petrushanko, S.; Savrin, V.; Azhgirey, I.; Bayshev, I.; Bitioukov, S.; Kachanov, V.; Kalinin, A.; Konstantinov, D.; Krychkine, V.; Petrov, V.; Ryutin, R.; Sobol, A.; Tourtchanovitch, L.; Troshin, S.; Tyurin, N.; Uzunian, A.; Volkov, A.; Adzic, P.; Ekmedzic, M.; Milosevic, J.; Rekovic, V.; Alcaraz Maestre, J.; Battilana, C.; Calvo, E.; Cerrada, M.; Chamizo Llatas, M.; Colino, N.; De La Cruz, B.; Delgado Peris, A.; Domínguez Vázquez, D.; Escalante Del Valle, A.; Fernandez Bedoya, C.; Fernández Ramos, J. P.; Flix, J.; Fouz, M. C.; Garcia-Abia, P.; Gonzalez Lopez, O.; Goy Lopez, S.; Hernandez, J. M.; Josa, M. I.; Merino, G.; Navarro De Martino, E.; Pérez-Calero Yzquierdo, A.; Puerta Pelayo, J.; Quintario Olmeda, A.; Redondo, I.; Romero, L.; Soares, M. S.; Albajar, C.; de Trocóniz, J. F.; Missiroli, M.; Moran, D.; Brun, H.; Cuevas, J.; Fernandez Menendez, J.; Folgueras, S.; Gonzalez Caballero, I.; Lloret Iglesias, L.; Brochero Cifuentes, J. A.; Cabrillo, I. J.; Calderon, A.; Duarte Campderros, J.; Fernandez, M.; Gomez, G.; Graziano, A.; Lopez Virto, A.; Marco, J.; Marco, R.; Martinez Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Munoz Sanchez, F. J.; Piedra Gomez, J.; Rodrigo, T.; Rodríguez-Marrero, A. Y.; Ruiz-Jimeno, A.; Scodellaro, L.; Vila, I.; Vilar Cortabitarte, R.; Abbaneo, D.; Auffray, E.; Auzinger, G.; Bachtis, M.; Baillon, P.; Ball, A. H.; Barney, D.; Benaglia, A.; Bendavid, J.; Benhabib, L.; Benitez, J. F.; Bernet, C.; Bianchi, G.; Bloch, P.; Bocci, A.; Bonato, A.; Bondu, O.; Botta, C.; Breuker, H.; Camporesi, T.; Cerminara, G.; Colafranceschi, S.; D'Alfonso, M.; d'Enterria, D.; Dabrowski, A.; David, A.; De Guio, F.; De Roeck, A.; De Visscher, S.; Dobson, M.; Dordevic, M.; Dupont-Sagorin, N.; Elliott-Peisert, A.; Eugster, J.; Franzoni, G.; Funk, W.; Gigi, D.; Gill, K.; Giordano, D.; Girone, M.; Glege, F.; Guida, R.; Gundacker, S.; Guthoff, M.; Guida, R.; Hammer, J.; Hansen, M.; Harris, P.; Hegeman, J.; Innocente, V.; Janot, P.; Kousouris, K.; Krajczar, K.; Lecoq, P.; Lourenço, C.; Magini, N.; Malgeri, L.; Mannelli, M.; Marrouche, J.; Masetti, L.; Meijers, F.; Mersi, S.; Meschi, E.; Moortgat, F.; Morovic, S.; Mulders, M.; Musella, P.; Orsini, L.; Pape, L.; Perez, E.; Perrozzi, L.; Petrilli, A.; Petrucciani, G.; Pfeiffer, A.; Pierini, M.; Pimiä, M.; Piparo, D.; Plagge, M.; Racz, A.; Rolandi, G.; Rovere, M.; Sakulin, H.; Schäfer, C.; Schwick, C.; Sharma, A.; Siegrist, P.; Silva, P.; Simon, M.; Sphicas, P.; Spiga, D.; Steggemann, J.; Stieger, B.; Stoye, M.; Treille, D.; Tsirou, A.; Veres, G. I.; Vlimant, J. R.; Wardle, N.; Wöhri, H. K.; Wollny, H.; Zeuner, W. D.; Bertl, W.; Deiters, K.; Erdmann, W.; Horisberger, R.; Ingram, Q.; Kaestli, H. C.; König, S.; Kotlinski, D.; Langenegger, U.; Renker, D.; Rohe, T.; Bachmair, F.; Bäni, L.; Bianchini, L.; Bortignon, P.; Buchmann, M. A.; Casal, B.; Chanon, N.; Deisher, A.; Dissertori, G.; Dittmar, M.; Donegà, M.; Dünser, M.; Eller, P.; Grab, C.; Hits, D.; Lustermann, W.; Mangano, B.; Marini, A. C.; Martinez Ruiz del Arbol, P.; Meister, D.; Mohr, N.; Nägeli, C.; Nessi-Tedaldi, F.; Pandolfi, F.; Pauss, F.; Peruzzi, M.; Quittnat, M.; Rebane, L.; Rossini, M.; Starodumov, A.; Takahashi, M.; Theofilatos, K.; Wallny, R.; Weber, H. A.; Amsler, C.; Canelli, M. F.; Chiochia, V.; De Cosa, A.; Hinzmann, A.; Hreus, T.; Kilminster, B.; Millan Mejias, B.; Ngadiuba, J.; Robmann, P.; Ronga, F. J.; Taroni, S.; Verzetti, M.; Yang, Y.; Cardaci, M.; Chen, K. H.; Ferro, C.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W.; Lu, Y. J.; Volpe, R.; Yu, S. S.; Chang, P.; Chang, Y. H.; Chang, Y. W.; Chao, Y.; Chen, K. F.; Chen, P. H.; Dietz, C.; Grundler, U.; Hou, W.-S.; Kao, K. Y.; Lei, Y. J.; Liu, Y. F.; Lu, R.-S.; Majumder, D.; Petrakou, E.; Tzeng, Y. M.; Wilken, R.; Asavapibhop, B.; Srimanobhas, N.; Suwonjandee, N.; Adiguzel, A.; Bakirci, M. N.; Cerci, S.; Dozen, C.; Dumanoglu, I.; Eskut, E.; Girgis, S.; Gokbulut, G.; Gurpinar, E.; Hos, I.; Kangal, E. E.; Kayis Topaksu, A.; Onengut, G.; Ozdemir, K.; Ozturk, S.; Polatoz, A.; Sogut, K.; Sunar Cerci, D.; Tali, B.; Topakli, H.; Vergili, M.; Akin, I. V.; Bilin, B.; Bilmis, S.; Gamsizkan, H.; Karapinar, G.; Ocalan, K.; Sekmen, S.; Surat, U. E.; Yalvac, M.; Zeyrek, M.; Gülmez, E.; Isildak, B.; Kaya, M.; Kaya, O.; Bahtiyar, H.; Barlas, E.; Cankocak, K.; Vardarlı, F. I.; Yücel, M.; Levchuk, L.; Sorokin, P.; Brooke, J. J.; Clement, E.; Cussans, D.; Flacher, H.; Frazier, R.; Goldstein, J.; Grimes, M.; Heath, G. P.; Heath, H. F.; Jacob, J.; Kreczko, L.; Lucas, C.; Meng, Z.; Newbold, D. M.; Paramesvaran, S.; Poll, A.; Senkin, S.; Smith, V. J.; Williams, T.; Bell, K. W.; Belyaev, A.; Brew, C.; Brown, R. M.; Cockerill, D. J. A.; Coughlan, J. A.; Harder, K.; Harper, S.; Olaiya, E.; Petyt, D.; Shepherd-Themistocleous, C. H.; Thea, A.; Tomalin, I. R.; Womersley, W. J.; Worm, S. D.; Baber, M.; Bainbridge, R.; Buchmuller, O.; Burton, D.; Colling, D.; Cripps, N.; Cutajar, M.; Dauncey, P.; Davies, G.; Della Negra, M.; Dunne, P.; Ferguson, W.; Fulcher, J.; Futyan, D.; Gilbert, A.; Hall, G.; Iles, G.; Jarvis, M.; Karapostoli, G.; Kenzie, M.; Lane, R.; Lucas, R.; Lyons, L.; Magnan, A.-M.; Malik, S.; Mathias, B.; Nash, J.; Nikitenko, A.; Pela, J.; Pesaresi, M.; Petridis, K.; Raymond, D. M.; Rogerson, S.; Rose, A.; Seez, C.; Sharp, P.; Tapper, A.; Vazquez Acosta, M.; Virdee, T.; Cole, J. E.; Hobson, P. R.; Khan, A.; Kyberd, P.; Leggat, D.; Leslie, D.; Martin, W.; Reid, I. D.; Symonds, P.; Teodorescu, L.; Turner, M.; Dittmann, J.; Hatakeyama, K.; Kasmi, A.; Liu, H.; Scarborough, T.; Charaf, O.; Cooper, S. I.; Henderson, C.; Rumerio, P.; Avetisyan, A.; Bose, T.; Fantasia, C.; Heister, A.; Lawson, P.; Richardson, C.; Rohlf, J.; Sperka, D.; St. John, J.; Sulak, L.; Alimena, J.; Berry, E.; Bhattacharya, S.; Christopher, G.; Cutts, D.; Demiragli, Z.; Ferapontov, A.; Garabedian, A.; Heintz, U.; Kukartsev, G.; Laird, E.; Landsberg, G.; Luk, M.; Narain, M.; Segala, M.; Sinthuprasith, T.; Speer, T.; Swanson, J.; Breedon, R.; Breto, G.; Calderon De La Barca Sanchez, M.; Chauhan, S.; Chertok, M.; Conway, J.; Conway, R.; Cox, P. T.; Erbacher, R.; Gardner, M.; Ko, W.; Lander, R.; Miceli, T.; Mulhearn, M.; Pellett, D.; Pilot, J.; Ricci-Tam, F.; Searle, M.; Shalhout, S.; Smith, J.; Squires, M.; Stolp, D.; Tripathi, M.; Wilbur, S.; Yohay, R.; Cousins, R.; Everaerts, P.; Farrell, C.; Hauser, J.; Ignatenko, M.; Rakness, G.; Takasugi, E.; Valuev, V.; Weber, M.; Babb, J.; Burt, K.; Clare, R.; Ellison, J.; Gary, J. W.; Hanson, G.; Heilman, J.; Ivova Rikova, M.; Jandir, P.; Kennedy, E.; Lacroix, F.; Liu, H.; Long, O. R.; Luthra, A.; Malberti, M.; Nguyen, H.; Negrete, M. Olmedo; Shrinivas, A.; Sumowidagdo, S.; Wimpenny, S.; Andrews, W.; Branson, J. G.; Cerati, G. B.; Cittolin, S.; D'Agnolo, R. T.; Evans, D.; Holzner, A.; Kelley, R.; Klein, D.; Lebourgeois, M.; Letts, J.; Macneill, I.; Olivito, D.; Padhi, S.; Palmer, C.; Pieri, M.; Sani, M.; Sharma, V.; Simon, S.; Sudano, E.; Tadel, M.; Tu, Y.; Vartak, A.; Welke, C.; Würthwein, F.; Yagil, A.; Yoo, J.; Barge, D.; Bradmiller-Feld, J.; Campagnari, C.; Danielson, T.; Dishaw, A.; Flowers, K.; Franco Sevilla, M.; Geffert, P.; George, C.; Golf, F.; Gouskos, L.; Incandela, J.; Justus, C.; Mccoll, N.; Richman, J.; Stuart, D.; To, W.; West, C.; Apresyan, A.; Bornheim, A.; Bunn, J.; Chen, Y.; Di Marco, E.; Duarte, J.; Mott, A.; Newman, H. B.; Pena, C.; Rogan, C.; Spiropulu, M.; Timciuc, V.; Wilkinson, R.; Xie, S.; Zhu, R. Y.; Azzolini, V.; Calamba, A.; Ferguson, T.; Iiyama, Y.; Paulini, M.; Russ, J.; Vogel, H.; Vorobiev, I.; Cumalat, J. P.; Ford, W. T.; Gaz, A.; Luiggi Lopez, E.; Nauenberg, U.; Smith, J. G.; Stenson, K.; Ulmer, K. A.; Wagner, S. R.; Alexander, J.; Chatterjee, A.; Chu, J.; Dittmer, S.; Eggert, N.; Mirman, N.; Nicolas Kaufman, G.; Patterson, J. R.; Ryd, A.; Salvati, E.; Skinnari, L.; Sun, W.; Teo, W. D.; Thom, J.; Thompson, J.; Tucker, J.; Weng, Y.; Winstrom, L.; Wittich, P.; Winn, D.; Abdullin, S.; Albrow, M.; Anderson, J.; Apollinari, G.; Bauerdick, L. A. T.; Beretvas, A.; Berryhill, J.; Bhat, P. C.; Burkett, K.; Butler, J. N.; Cheung, H. W. K.; Chlebana, F.; Cihangir, S.; Elvira, V. D.; Fisk, I.; Freeman, J.; Gao, Y.; Gottschalk, E.; Gray, L.; Green, D.; Grünendahl, S.; Gutsche, O.; Hanlon, J.; Hare, D.; Harris, R. M.; Hirschauer, J.; Hooberman, B.; Jindariani, S.; Johnson, M.; Joshi, U.; Kaadze, K.; Klima, B.; Kreis, B.; Kwan, S.; Linacre, J.; Lincoln, D.; Lipton, R.; Liu, T.; Lykken, J.; Maeshima, K.; Marraffino, J. M.; Martinez Outschoorn, V. I.; Maruyama, S.; Mason, D.; McBride, P.; Mishra, K.; Mrenna, S.; Musienko, Y.; Nahn, S.; Newman-Holmes, C.; O'Dell, V.; Prokofyev, O.; Sexton-Kennedy, E.; Sharma, S.; Soha, A.; Spalding, W. J.; Spiegel, L.; Taylor, L.; Tkaczyk, S.; Tran, N. V.; Uplegger, L.; Vaandering, E. W.; Vidal, R.; Whitbeck, A.; Whitmore, J.; Yang, F.; Acosta, D.; Avery, P.; Bourilkov, D.; Carver, M.; Cheng, T.; Curry, D.; Das, S.; De Gruttola, M.; Di Giovanni, G. P.; Field, R. D.; Fisher, M.; Furic, I. K.; Hugon, J.; Konigsberg, J.; Korytov, A.; Kypreos, T.; Low, J. F.; Matchev, K.; Milenovic, P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Muniz, L.; Rinkevicius, A.; Shchutska, L.; Skhirtladze, N.; Snowball, M.; Yelton, J.; Zakaria, M.; Hewamanage, S.; Linn, S.; Markowitz, P.; Martinez, G.; Rodriguez, J. L.; Adams, T.; Askew, A.; Bochenek, J.; Diamond, B.; Haas, J.; Hagopian, S.; Hagopian, V.; Johnson, K. F.; Prosper, H.; Veeraraghavan, V.; Weinberg, M.; Baarmand, M. M.; Hohlmann, M.; Kalakhety, H.; Yumiceva, F.; Adams, M. R.; Apanasevich, L.; Bazterra, V. E.; Berry, D.; Betts, R. R.; Bucinskaite, I.; Cavanaugh, R.; Evdokimov, O.; Gauthier, L.; Gerber, C. E.; Hofman, D. J.; Khalatyan, S.; Kurt, P.; Moon, D. H.; O'Brien, C.; Silkworth, C.; Turner, P.; Varelas, N.; Albayrak, E. A.; Bilki, B.; Clarida, W.; Dilsiz, K.; Duru, F.; Haytmyradov, M.; Merlo, J.-P.; Mermerkaya, H.; Mestvirishvili, A.; Moeller, A.; Nachtman, J.; Ogul, H.; Onel, Y.; Ozok, F.; Penzo, A.; Rahmat, R.; Sen, S.; Tan, P.; Tiras, E.; Wetzel, J.; Yetkin, T.; Yi, K.; Barnett, B. A.; Blumenfeld, B.; Bolognesi, S.; Fehling, D.; Gritsan, A. V.; Maksimovic, P.; Martin, C.; Swartz, M.; Baringer, P.; Bean, A.; Benelli, G.; Bruner, C.; Gray, J.; Kenny, R. P.; Malek, M.; Murray, M.; Noonan, D.; Sanders, S.; Sekaric, J.; Stringer, R.; Wang, Q.; Wood, J. S.; Barfuss, A. F.; Chakaberia, I.; Ivanov, A.; Khalil, S.; Makouski, M.; Maravin, Y.; Saini, L. K.; Shrestha, S.; Svintradze, I.; Gronberg, J.; Lange, D.; Rebassoo, F.; Wright, D.; Baden, A.; Belloni, A.; Calvert, B.; Eno, S. C.; Gomez, J. A.; Hadley, N. J.; Kellogg, R. G.; Kolberg, T.; Lu, Y.; Marionneau, M.; Mignerey, A. C.; Pedro, K.; Skuja, A.; Tonjes, M. B.; Tonwar, S. C.; Apyan, A.; Barbieri, R.; Bauer, G.; Busza, W.; Cali, I. A.; Chan, M.; Di Matteo, L.; Dutta, V.; Gomez Ceballos, G.; Goncharov, M.; Gulhan, D.; Klute, M.; Lai, Y. S.; Lee, Y.-J.; Levin, A.; Luckey, P. D.; Ma, T.; Paus, C.; Ralph, D.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stöckli, F.; Sumorok, K.; Velicanu, D.; Veverka, J.; Wyslouch, B.; Yang, M.; Yoon, A. S.; Zanetti, M.; Zhukova, V.; Dahmes, B.; De Benedetti, A.; Gude, A.; Kao, S. C.; Klapoetke, K.; Kubota, Y.; Mans, J.; Pastika, N.; Rusack, R.; Singovsky, A.; Tambe, N.; Turkewitz, J.; Acosta, J. G.; Cremaldi, L. M.; Kroeger, R.; Oliveros, S.; Perera, L.; Sanders, D. A.; Summers, D.; Avdeeva, E.; Bloom, K.; Bose, S.; Claes, D. R.; Dominguez, A.; Gonzalez Suarez, R.; Keller, J.; Knowlton, D.; Kravchenko, I.; Lazo-Flores, J.; Malik, S.; Meier, F.; Snow, G. R.; Dolen, J.; Godshalk, A.; Iashvili, I.; Jain, S.; Kharchilava, A.; Kumar, A.; Rappoccio, S.; Alverson, G.; Barberis, E.; Baumgartel, D.; Chasco, M.; Haley, J.; Massironi, A.; Nash, D.; Orimoto, T.; Trocino, D.; Wang, R. j.; Wood, D.; Zhang, J.; Anastassov, A.; Hahn, K. A.; Kubik, A.; Lusito, L.; Mucia, N.; Odell, N.; Pollack, B.; Pozdnyakov, A.; Schmitt, M.; Stoynev, S.; Sung, K.; Velasco, M.; Won, S.; Brinkerhoff, A.; Chan, K. M.; Drozdetskiy, A.; Hildreth, M.; Jessop, C.; Karmgard, D. J.; Kellams, N.; Lannon, K.; Luo, W.; Lynch, S.; Marinelli, N.; Pearson, T.; Planer, M.; Ruchti, R.; Valls, N.; Wayne, M.; Wolf, M.; Woodard, A.; Antonelli, L.; Brinson, J.; Bylsma, B.; Durkin, L. S.; Flowers, S.; Hill, C.; Hughes, R.; Kotov, K.; Ling, T. Y.; Puigh, D.; Rodenburg, M.; Smith, G.; Vuosalo, C.; Winer, B. L.; Wolfe, H.; Wulsin, H. W.; Driga, O.; Elmer, P.; Hebda, P.; Hunt, A.; Koay, S. A.; Lujan, P.; Marlow, D.; Medvedeva, T.; Mooney, M.; Olsen, J.; Piroué, P.; Quan, X.; Saka, H.; Stickland, D.; Tully, C.; Werner, J. S.; Zenz, S. C.; Zuranski, A.; Brownson, E.; Mendez, H.; Ramirez Vargas, J. E.; Alagoz, E.; Barnes, V. E.; Benedetti, D.; Bolla, G.; Bortoletto, D.; De Mattia, M.; Hu, Z.; Jha, M. K.; Jones, M.; Jung, K.; Kress, M.; Leonardo, N.; Lopes Pegna, D.; Maroussov, V.; Merkel, P.; Miller, D. H.; Neumeister, N.; Radburn-Smith, B. C.; Shi, X.; Shipsey, I.; Silvers, D.; Svyatkovskiy, A.; Wang, F.; Xie, W.; Xu, L.; Yoo, H. D.; Zablocki, J.; Zheng, Y.; Parashar, N.; Stupak, J.; Adair, A.; Akgun, B.; Ecklund, K. M.; Geurts, F. J. M.; Li, W.; Michlin, B.; Padley, B. P.; Redjimi, R.; Roberts, J.; Zabel, J.; Betchart, B.; Bodek, A.; Covarelli, R.; de Barbaro, P.; Demina, R.; Eshaq, Y.; Ferbel, T.; Garcia-Bellido, A.; Goldenzweig, P.; Han, J.; Harel, A.; Khukhunaishvili, A.; Petrillo, G.; Vishnevskiy, D.; Ciesielski, R.; Demortier, L.; Goulianos, K.; Lungu, G.; Mesropian, C.; Arora, S.; Barker, A.; Chou, J. P.; Contreras-Campana, C.; Contreras-Campana, E.; Duggan, D.; Ferencek, D.; Gershtein, Y.; Gray, R.; Halkiadakis, E.; Hidas, D.; Lath, A.; Panwalkar, S.; Park, M.; Patel, R.; Salur, S.; Schnetzer, S.; Somalwar, S.; Stone, R.; Thomas, S.; Thomassen, P.; Walker, M.; Rose, K.; Spanier, S.; York, A.; Bouhali, O.; Eusebi, R.; Flanagan, W.; Gilmore, J.; Kamon, T.; Khotilovich, V.; Krutelyov, V.; Montalvo, R.; Osipenkov, I.; Pakhotin, Y.; Perloff, A.; Roe, J.; Rose, A.; Safonov, A.; Sakuma, T.; Suarez, I.; Tatarinov, A.; Akchurin, N.; Cowden, C.; Damgov, J.; Dragoiu, C.; Dudero, P. R.; Faulkner, J.; Kovitanggoon, K.; Kunori, S.; Lee, S. W.; Libeiro, T.; Volobouev, I.; Appelt, E.; Delannoy, A. G.; Greene, S.; Gurrola, A.; Johns, W.; Maguire, C.; Mao, Y.; Melo, A.; Sharma, M.; Sheldon, P.; Snook, B.; Tuo, S.; Velkovska, J.; Arenton, M. W.; Boutle, S.; Cox, B.; Francis, B.; Goodell, J.; Hirosky, R.; Ledovskoy, A.; Li, H.; Lin, C.; Neu, C.; Wood, J.; Harr, R.; Karchin, P. E.; Kottachchi Kankanamge Don, C.; Lamichhane, P.; Sturdy, J.; Belknap, D. A.; Carlsmith, D.; Cepeda, M.; Dasu, S.; Duric, S.; Friis, E.; Hall-Wilton, R.; Herndon, M.; Hervé, A.; Klabbers, P.; Lanaro, A.; Lazaridis, C.; Levine, A.; Loveless, R.; Mohapatra, A.; Ojalvo, I.; Perry, T.; Pierro, G. A.; Polese, G.; Ross, I.; Sarangi, T.; Savin, A.; Smith, W. H.; Woods, N.

    2014-11-01

    A search for heavy, right-handed neutrinos, (), and right-handed bosons, which arise in the left-right symmetric extensions of the standard model, has been performed by the CMS experiment. The search was based on a sample of two lepton plus two jet events collected in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 . For models with strict left-right symmetry, and assuming only one flavor contributes significantly to the decay width, the region in the two-dimensional mass plane excluded at a 95 % confidence level extends to approximately and covers a large range of neutrino masses below the boson mass, depending on the value of . This search significantly extends the exclusion region beyond previous results.

  11. The rubber hand illusion in complex regional pain syndrome: preserved ability to integrate a rubber hand indicates intact multisensory integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinersmann, Annika; Landwehrt, Julia; Krumova, Elena K; Peterburs, Jutta; Ocklenburg, Sebastian; Güntürkün, Onur; Maier, Christoph

    2013-09-01

    In patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type 1, processing of static tactile stimuli is impaired, whereas more complex sensory integration functions appear preserved. This study investigated higher order multisensory integration of body-relevant stimuli using the rubber hand illusion in CRPS patients. Subjective self-reports and skin conductance responses to watching the rubber hand being harmed were compared among CRPS patients (N=24), patients with upper limb pain of other origin (N=21, clinical control group), and healthy subjects (N=24). Additionally, the influence of body representation (body plasticity [Trinity Assessment of Body Plasticity], neglect-like severity symptoms), and clinical signs of illusion strength were investigated. For statistical analysis, 1-way analysis of variance, t test, Pearson correlation, with α=0.05 were used. CRPS patients did not differ from healthy subjects and the control group with regard to their illusion strength as assessed by subjective reports or skin conductance response values. Stronger left-sided rubber hand illusions were reported by healthy subjects and left-side-affected CRPS patients. Moreover, for this subgroup, illness duration and illusion strength were negatively correlated. Overall, severity of neglect-like symptoms and clinical signs were not related to illusion strength. However, patients with CRPS of the right hand reported significantly stronger neglect-like symptoms and significantly lower illusion strength of the affected hand than patients with CRPS of the left hand. The weaker illusion of CRPS patients with strong neglect-like symptoms on the affected hand supports the role of top-down processes modulating body ownership. Moreover, the intact ability to perceive illusory ownership confirms the notion that, despite impaired processing of proprioceptive or tactile input, higher order multisensory integration is unaffected in CRPS. Copyright © 2013 International Association for the Study

  12. Right Frontotemporal Cortex Mediates the Relationship between Cognitive Insight and Subjective Quality of Life in Patients with Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pu, Shenghong; Nakagome, Kazuyuki; Itakura, Masashi; Ohtachi, Hiroaki; Iwata, Masaaki; Nagata, Izumi; Kaneko, Koichi

    2018-01-01

    Although prior studies identified a relationship between cognitive insight and subjective quality of life (QOL) in patients with schizophrenia, the brain regions mediating this relationship remain unknown. Recent studies have shown that the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex may be particularly important for cognitive insight in individuals with schizophrenia. Here, we examined whether frontotemporal function mediates the relationship between cognitive insight and QOL in 64 participants, including 32 patients with schizophrenia and 32 healthy controls. Cognitive insight was measured using the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS), while participants' subjective QOL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-form Health Survey. Frontotemporal function was evaluated during a verbal fluency task using multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy. Consistent with previous findings, we found that frontotemporal function was impaired in patients with schizophrenia. Interestingly, our data also revealed that the right ventrolateral PFC and the right anterior part of the temporal cortex significantly mediated the relationship between the self-reflectiveness (SR) subscale of the BCIS and subjective QOL. These findings suggest that cognitive insight, particularly SR, is associated with subjective QOL in patients with schizophrenia via right frontotemporal function. The findings of this study provide important insight into a QOL model of schizophrenia, which may guide the development of cost-effective interventions that target frontotemporal function in patients with schizophrenia.

  13. Acupuncture in subjects with cold hands sensation: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Jung-Chul; Lee, Hyun-jong; Kwak, Min-Ah; Park, Sung-Hoon; Shin, ImHee; Yun, Woo-Sung; Park, Kihyuk

    2014-09-04

    Cold hands sensation is a common disorder within the Korean population. Many Korean family physicians believe that it is a mild early manifestation of Raynaud's phenomenon (RP), or may be related to RP. RP is characterized by reversible digital vasospasm provoked by cold temperatures and/or emotional stress, and doctors often prescribe medications that are used in treatment of RP for subjects with cold hands. However, this has not shown a clear benefit, and these medications can cause unwanted side effects. It is also reported that traditional Korean medicine, including acupuncture, is widely used to treat cold hands, although the current level of evidence for this approach is also poor and to date, there have been no published randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for cold hands. We have therefore designed a pilot RCT to obtain information for the design of a further full-scale trial. The proposed study is a five-week pilot RCT. A total of 14 subjects will be recruited and randomly allocated to two groups: an acupuncture plus medication group (experimental group) and a medication-only group (control group). All subjects will take nifedipine (5 mg once daily) and beraprost (20 mg three times daily) for three weeks. The experimental group will receive additional treatment with three acupuncture sessions per week for three weeks (nine sessions total). The primary outcome will be measured using a visual analogue scale. Secondary outcomes will be measured by blood perfusion in laser Doppler perfusion imaging of the hands, frequency and duration of episodes of cold hands, and heart rate variability. Assessments will be made at baseline and at one, three, and five weeks thereafter. This study will provide an indication of the feasibility and a clinical foundation for a future large-scale trial. This study was registered at Korean Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS) registry on 5 August 2013 with the

  14. Poor Hand-Pointing to Sounds in Right Brain-Damaged Patients: Not Just a Problem of Spatial-Hearing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavani, Francesco; Farne, Alessandro; Ladavas, Elisabetta

    2005-01-01

    We asked 22 right brain-damaged (RBD) patients and 11 elderly healthy controls to perform hand-pointing movements to free-field unseen sounds, while modulating two non-auditory variables: the initial position of the responding hand (left, centre or right) and the presence or absence of task-irrelevant ambient vision. RBD patients suffering from…

  15. Search for right-handed currents in muon decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balke, B.; Carr, J.; Gidal, G.

    1984-07-01

    The parameter xi, which characterizes the anisotropy of the emitted electrons relative to the spin direction of the muon, is a sensitive indicator of possible V+A admixtures to the dominant V-A weak interaction responsible for muon decay. We report here new results relating to the measurement of xi based on an experiment performed with a highly polarized surface muon beam at the TRIUMF cyclotron. The muons were stopped in thin metal foils in order to minimize depolarization effects. A spectrometer consisting of magnets and position sensitive detectors was tuned to accept electrons near the end point of the decay spectrum. Two largely independent methods were used to determine xi. In the first we measured the rate of positrons emitted in a direction opposite to the muon's spin as a function of their momentum when the stopping target was immersed in a 1.1 T longitudinal magnetic field. In the second method the stopping muons were subjected to a weak transverse magnetic field and the amplitude of their spin precession oscillation was used to determine xi. Based on the results from both methods lower limits on the mass of an intermediate vector boson which couples to right-handed weak currents are 400 GeV/c 2 when no constraints are placed on W/sub L/ - W/sub R/ mixing and 470 GeV/c 2 if mixing is assumed to be absent. These limits represent about an order of magnitude improvement over those obtained from previous measurements of xi. We have used the same apparatus to measure the anisotropic shape parameter delta. Preliminary results are consistent with the expected value of 3/4 with errors that are a factor of two smaller than previous measurements

  16. Negotiating Left-Hand and Right-Hand Bends: A Motorcycle Simulator Study to Investigate Experiential and Behaviour Differences Across Rider Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crundall, Elizabeth; Crundall, David; Stedmon, Alex W.

    2012-01-01

    Why do motorcyclists crash on bends? To address this question we examined the riding styles of three groups of motorcyclists on a motorcycle simulator. Novice, experienced and advanced motorcyclists navigated a series of combined left and right bends while their speed and lane position were recorded. Each rider encountered an unexpected hazard on both a left- and right-hand bend section. Upon seeing the hazards, all riders decreased their speed before steering to avoid the hazard. Experienced riders tended to follow more of a racing line through the bends, which resulted in them having to make the most severe changes to their position to avoid a collision. Advanced riders adopted the safest road positions, choosing a position which offered greater visibility through the bends. As a result, they did not need to alter their road position in response to the hazard. Novice riders adopted similar road positions to experienced riders on the left-hand bends, but their road positions were more similar to advanced riders on right-hand bends, suggesting that they were more aware of the risks associated with right bends. Novice riders also adopted a safer position on post-hazard bends whilst the experienced riders failed to alter their behaviour even though they had performed the greatest evasive manoeuvre in response to the hazards. Advanced riders did not need to alter their position as their approach to the bends was already optimal. The results suggest that non-advanced riders were more likely to choose an inappropriate lane position than an inappropriate speed when entering a bend. Furthermore, the findings support the theory that expertise is achieved as a result of relearning, with advanced training overriding ‘bad habits’ gained through experience alone. PMID:22253845

  17. An EMG-driven exoskeleton hand robotic training device on chronic stroke subjects: task training system for stroke rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, N S K; Tong, K Y; Hu, X L; Fung, K L; Wei, X J; Rong, W; Susanto, E A

    2011-01-01

    An exoskeleton hand robotic training device is specially designed for persons after stroke to provide training on their impaired hand by using an exoskeleton robotic hand which is actively driven by their own muscle signals. It detects the stroke person's intention using his/her surface electromyography (EMG) signals from the hemiplegic side and assists in hand opening or hand closing functional tasks. The robotic system is made up of an embedded controller and a robotic hand module which can be adjusted to fit for different finger length. Eight chronic stroke subjects had been recruited to evaluate the effects of this device. The preliminary results showed significant improvement in hand functions (ARAT) and upper limb functions (FMA) after 20 sessions of robot-assisted hand functions task training. With the use of this light and portable robotic device, stroke patients can now practice more easily for the opening and closing of their hands at their own will, and handle functional daily living tasks at ease. A video is included together with this paper to give a demonstration of the hand robotic system on chronic stroke subjects and it will be presented in the conference. © 2011 IEEE

  18. “Are women’s rights human rights? A view on women’s political participation in Vietnam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trung, P.T.

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper tries to examine whether women’s rights are human rights by looking at the case of women’s political participation in Vietnam. Beginning with the concept of private life and public life which are defined separately for women and men by the patriarchal system, then the framework of CEDAW, particularly Article 7, is used to assess how women have been enjoying their rights to participate in the political system of Vietnam both in laws and practice. At the same time, the effectiveness of CEDAW is proven in promoting member states to follow and implement its regulations accordingly. Although the paper is written based on available research and reports, and limited only in the area of women’s political participation but it also points out some rooted causes of seeing women’s rights separately from human rights. Further preliminary is needed to conduct widely in different aspects of women’s rights in order to reaffirm strongly that women should also enjoy their status of human being.

  19. Detection of heavy neutrinos and right-handed bosons of the left-right symmetric model

    CERN Document Server

    Kirsanov, M

    2008-01-01

    The left-right symmetric model can explain the origin of parity violation in weak interactions and predicts the existence of additional $W_R$ and $Z'$ gauge bosons and heavy right-handed neutrino states $N_l$. $N_l$ can be partners of light neutrino states ($l=e,\\mu,\\tau$), related to their non-zero masses through the see-saw mechanism. This makes the searches of $W_R$, $Z'$ and $N_l$ interesting and important. We studied the potential of the CMS experiment to observe signals from the $N_l$ and $W_R$ production at the LHC. It is shown that their decay signals can be identified over a small background. The mass region up to $M_{W_R} = 2100$ GeV and $M_{N_l} = 1200$ GeV can be explored with an expected Gaussian significance of 5$\\sigma$ with an integrated luminosity $\\mathcal{L}_{int} = 100$ pb$^{-1}$ (at the collision energy $\\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV).

  20. [Hand hygiene technique assessment using electronic equipment in 26 Hungarian healthcare institutions].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehotsky, Ákos; Morvai, Júlia; Szilágyi, László; Bánsághi, Száva; Benkó, Alíz; Haidegger, Tamás

    2017-07-01

    Hand hygiene is probably the most effective tool of nosocomial infection prevention, however, proper feedback and control is needed to develop the individual hand hygiene practice. Assessing the efficiency of modern education tools, and digital demonstration and verification equipment during their wide-range deployment. 1269 healthcare workers took part in a training organized by our team. The training included the assessment of the participants' hand hygiene technique to identify the most often missed areas. The hand hygiene technique was examined by a digital device. 33% of the participants disinfected their hands incorrectly. The most often missed sites are the fingertips (33% on the left hand, 37% on the right hand) and the thumbs (42% on the left hand, 32% on the right hand). The feedback has a fundamental role in the development of the hand hygiene technique. With the usage of electronic devices feedback can be provided efficiently and simply. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(29): 1143-1148.

  1. Comparative study of presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution versus traditional presurgical hand hygiene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López Martín, M Beatriz; Erice Calvo-Sotelo, Alejo

    To compare presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution following the WHO protocol with traditional presurgical hand hygiene. Cultures of the hands of surgeons and surgical nurses were performed before and after presurgical hand hygiene and after removing gloves at the end of surgery. Cultures were done in 2different days: the first day after traditional presurgical hand hygiene, and the second day after presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution following the WHO protocol. The duration of the traditional hand hygiene was measured and compared with the duration (3min) of the WHO protocol. The cost of the products used in the traditional technique was compared with the cost of the hydroalcoholic solution used. The variability of the traditional technique was determined by observation. Following presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution, colony-forming units (CFU) were detected in 5 (7.3%) subjects, whereas after traditional presurgical hand hygiene CFU were detected in 14 subjects (20.5%) (p < 0.05). After glove removal, the numbers of CFU were similar. The time employed in hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution (3min) was inferior to the time employed in the traditional technique (p < 0.05), its cost was less than half, and there was no variability. Compared with other techniques, presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution significantly decreases CFU, has similar latency time, a lower cost, and saves time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  2. Subject-specific computer simulation model for determining elbow loading in one-handed tennis backhand groundstrokes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Mark A; Glynn, Jonathan A; Mitchell, Sean R

    2011-11-01

    A subject-specific angle-driven computer model of a tennis player, combined with a forward dynamics, equipment-specific computer model of tennis ball-racket impacts, was developed to determine the effect of ball-racket impacts on loading at the elbow for one-handed backhand groundstrokes. Matching subject-specific computer simulations of a typical topspin/slice one-handed backhand groundstroke performed by an elite tennis player were done with root mean square differences between performance and matching simulations of elbow loading for a topspin and slice one-handed backhand groundstroke is relatively small. In this study, the relatively small differences in elbow loading may be due to comparable angle-time histories at the wrist and elbow joints with the major kinematic differences occurring at the shoulder. Using a subject-specific angle-driven computer model combined with a forward dynamics, equipment-specific computer model of tennis ball-racket impacts allows peak internal loading, net impulse, and shock due to ball-racket impact to be calculated which would not otherwise be possible without impractical invasive techniques. This study provides a basis for further investigation of the factors that may increase elbow loading during tennis strokes.

  3. Ethnic Identity and Subjective Well-Being of Bully Participants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vera, Elizabeth M.; Kordesh, Kathy; Polanin, Megan; Adams, Kristen; Aydin, Fatma; Knoll, Mike; Oh, Jennifer; Wade, James; Roche, Meghan; Hughes, Kelly; Eisenberg, Corry; Camacho, Daniel; Jeremie-Brink, Gihane

    2015-01-01

    Relationships among bully victimization, bully perpetration, ethnic identity, and subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) were examined in a group of urban, ethnically diverse early adolescents. Indices of subjective well-being correlated with participants' scores on bully victimization and…

  4. Three-dimensional movement analysis of handwriting in subjects with mild hemiparesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harada, Takako; Okajima, Yasutomo; Takahashi, Hidetoshi

    2010-08-01

    To investigate the effects of hemiparesis on handwriting using a 3-dimensional movement analyzer. Comparative case study. Ambulatory care clinic. Right-handed patients (n=25; mean age +/- SD, 62.3+/-10y) with mild right hemiparesis secondary to subcortical stroke, and age-matched (n=10; 65.6+/-13y) and age-unmatched (n=15; 32.4+/-10y) control subjects. Not applicable. Time required to write a Japanese character of 2 different sizes and average speed of handwriting at the pen tip. Average radii of tracks of the moving pen tip, metacarpal head of the index finger, and distal end of the forearm during writing. Correlation coefficients of the instantaneous speed-time graph of the pen tip with that of the index finger and with that of the distal forearm during writing. Time for writing with the hemiparetic right hand was longer than that with the unaffected left hand (P=.05 approximately .03), while it was shorter in healthy control subjects (P=.07 approximately .05). In contrast with the left-hand writing, the track radius of the pen tip of the right-hand writing in patients with hemiparesis with normal joint position sense was significantly larger than that of the finger or distal forearm (P=.01). The finding was the same as in the young and elderly control subjects. This right-left difference disappeared in the patients with hemiparesis with position sense impairment. The correlation coefficient of speed between the pen tip and the finger was larger in right-hand than left-hand writing in the control and sensory-normative patients with hemiparesis even though the difference was significant only in the healthy elderly subjects (P=.03). Irrespective of the right or left hand use, the correlation coefficient between the pen tip and the finger or distal forearm significantly increased as the character size increased (P=.03 approximately 6 x10(-6)) in all subjects and patients. However, this size-related difference was less significant in the patients with sensory

  5. Assessing the impact of representational and contextual problem features on student use of right-hand rules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kustusch, Mary Bridget

    2016-06-01

    Students in introductory physics struggle with vector algebra and these challenges are often associated with contextual and representational features of the problems. Performance on problems about cross product direction is particularly poor and some research suggests that this may be primarily due to misapplied right-hand rules. However, few studies have had the resolution to explore student use of right-hand rules in detail. This study reviews literature in several disciplines, including spatial cognition, to identify ten contextual and representational problem features that are most likely to influence performance on problems requiring a right-hand rule. Two quantitative measures of performance (correctness and response time) and two qualitative measures (methods used and type of errors made) were used to explore the impact of these problem features on student performance. Quantitative results are consistent with expectations from the literature, but reveal that some features (such as the type of reasoning required and the physical awkwardness of using a right-hand rule) have a greater impact than others (such as whether the vectors are placed together or separate). Additional insight is gained by the qualitative analysis, including identifying sources of difficulty not previously discussed in the literature and revealing that the use of supplemental methods, such as physically rotating the paper, can mitigate errors associated with certain features.

  6. Molecular analogs of the hemihelix: A computational study of chain molecules containing left- and right-handed helices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pichierri, Fabio

    2014-08-01

    Using density functional theory (DFT) we design two novel chain molecules containing a left-handed (thia)helicene unit connected to a right-handed (thia)helicene unit via a phosphoroussbnd phosphorous (Psbnd P) bond. These chains represent the molecular analogs of the novel hemihelix structure recently discovered by a group of Harvard University scientists. The HOMO and LUMO levels of the heterochiral chains, termed hemihelicenes, are localized on the left- and right-handed blocks, respectively. In contrast, the frontier orbitals of the chains containing homochiral (thia)helicenes connected by a Psbnd P bond are delocalized all over the chain.

  7. Relationship between speed and EEG activity during imagined and executed hand movements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Han; Perdoni, Christopher; He, Bin

    2010-04-01

    The relationship between primary motor cortex and movement kinematics has been shown in nonhuman primate studies of hand reaching or drawing tasks. Studies have demonstrated that the neural activities accompanying or immediately preceding the movement encode the direction, speed and other information. Here we investigated the relationship between the kinematics of imagined and actual hand movement, i.e. the clenching speed, and the EEG activity in ten human subjects. Study participants were asked to perform and imagine clenching of the left hand and right hand at various speeds. The EEG activity in the alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (18-28 Hz) frequency bands were found to be linearly correlated with the speed of imagery clenching. Similar parametric modulation was also found during the execution of hand movements. A single equation relating the EEG activity to the speed and the hand (left versus right) was developed. This equation, which contained a linear independent combination of the two parameters, described the time-varying neural activity during the tasks. Based on the model, a regression approach was developed to decode the two parameters from the multiple-channel EEG signals. We demonstrated the continuous decoding of dynamic hand and speed information of the imagined clenching. In particular, the time-varying clenching speed was reconstructed in a bell-shaped profile. Our findings suggest an application to providing continuous and complex control of noninvasive brain-computer interface for movement-impaired paralytics.

  8. A f-MRI study on memory function in normal subjects and patients with partial epilepsies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamoda, Sachiko

    2004-01-01

    To investigate cerebral regions concerning a memory function and presence of memory lateralization, activated areas and the difference between the right and left hemisphere in functional magnetic resonance imaging (f-MRI) during verbal and visual memory tasks were examined in normal subjects and, as its clinical application, in patients with partial epilepsies. Subjects were 39 normal adult subjects and 10 adult patients. Of the 39 normal subjects, 30 were right-handed and 9 were left-handed. Further, of the 10 patients, 9 were right-handed and one was left-handed, and 7, 2 and 1 had temporal lobe, frontal lobe and undetermined partial epilepsies, respectively. Following the three type of memory task were designed; verbal memory tasks consisting of covert and overt recall tests of 10 words given auditory and visual memory task of covert recall tasks of 6 figures given visually. Activated cerebral areas were imaged with f-MRI using 1.5 tesla Magnetom Vision taken repeatedly during these tasks and neutral condition. Most of the 30 right-handed normal subjects showed activated areas over the left hemisphere specifically on the anterior cingulate, superior, middle and inferior frontal gyri during the verbal memory tasks of covert recall tests. Left hemisphere dominant activated areas in the precentral gyri were added during the verbal memory tasks of overt recall tests. On the other hand, 4 of the 9 left-handed normal subjects showed the left side-dominantly activated areas in the above-mentioned regions during the verbal memory tasks of covert and overt tests, in common with the right-handed subjects. However, 3 of the 9 left-handed normal subjects had right hemisphere dominant activation during the verbal memory tasks, while none of the 30 right-handed normal subjects showed such right side-dominancy. Further, the bilateral occipital lobes were activated during visual memory tasks. The reproducibility in this activation during these verbal and visual memory tasks

  9. Hypnosis modulates behavioural measures and subjective ratings about external and internal awareness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demertzi, Athena; Vanhaudenhuyse, Audrey; Noirhomme, Quentin; Faymonville, Marie-Elisabeth; Laureys, Steven

    2015-12-01

    In altered subjective states, the behavioural quantification of external and internal awareness remains challenging due to the need for reports on the subjects' behalf. With the aim to characterize the behavioural counterpart of external and internal awareness in a modified subjective condition, we used hypnosis during which subjects remain fully responsive. Eleven right-handed subjects reached a satisfactory level of hypnotisability as evidenced by subjective reports on arousal, absorption and dissociation. Compared to normal wakefulness, in hypnosis (a) participants' self-ratings for internal awareness increased and self-ratings for external awareness decreased, (b) the two awareness components tended to anticorrelate less and the switches between external and internal awareness self-ratings were less frequent, and (c) participants' reaction times were higher and lapses in key presses were more frequent. The identified imbalance between the two components of awareness is considered as of functional relevance to subjective (meta)cognition, possibly mediated by allocated attentional properties brought about by hypnosis. Our results highlight the presence of a cognitive counterpart in resting state, indicate that the modified contents of awareness are measurable behaviourally, and provide leverage for investigations of more challenging altered conscious states, such as anaesthesia, sleep and disorders of consciousness. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Objective Versus Subjective Measures of Executive Functions: Predictors of Participation and Quality of Life in Parkinson Disease?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlagsma, Thialda T; Koerts, Janneke; Tucha, Oliver; Dijkstra, Hilde T; Duits, Annelien A; van Laar, Teus; Spikman, Jacoba M

    2017-11-01

    To determine whether objective (neuropsychological tests) and subjective measures (questionnaires) of executive functions (EFs) are associated in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), and to determine to what extent level of participation and quality of life (QoL) of patients with PD can be predicted by these measures of EFs. Correlational research design (case-control and prediction design). Departments of neuropsychology of 3 medical centers. A sample (N=136) of patients with PD (n=42) and their relatives, and controls without PD (n=94). Not applicable. A test battery measuring EFs. In addition, patients, their relatives, and controls completed the Dysexecutive Questionnaire, Brock Adaptive Functioning Questionnaire, and Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale - time management questionnaires measuring complaints about EFs. Participation and QoL were measured with the Impact on Participation and Autonomy scale and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39, respectively. Patients with PD showed impairments in EFs on objective tests and reported significantly more complaints about EFs than did controls without PD. No associations were found between patients' performances on objective and subjective measures of EFs. However, both objective and subjective measures predicted patients' level of participation. In addition, subjective measures of EFs predicted QoL in patients with PD. These findings show that objective and subjective measures of EFs are not interchangeable and that both approaches predict level of participation and QoL in patients with PD. However, within this context, sex needs to be taken into account. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Phenomenological analysis of properties of the right-handed Majorana neutrino in the seesaw mechanism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan Haijun; Cheng, G.

    2002-01-01

    As an extension of our previous work in the seesaw mechanism, we analyze the influence of nonzero U e3 on the properties (masses and mixing) of the right-handed Majorana neutrinos in three flavors. The quasidegenerate light neutrinos case is also considered. Assuming the hierarchical Dirac neutrino masses, we find the heavy Majorana neutrino mass spectrum is either hierarchical or partially degenerate if θ 23 ν is large. We show that degenerate right-handed (RH) Majorana masses correspond to a maximal RH mixing angle while hierarchical ones correspond to the RH mixing angles which scale linearly with the mass ratios of the Dirac neutrino masses. An interesting analogue to the behavior of the matter-enhanced neutrino conversion and their difference is presented

  12. Co-speech hand movements during narrations: What is the impact of right vs. left hemisphere brain damage?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogrefe, Katharina; Rein, Robert; Skomroch, Harald; Lausberg, Hedda

    2016-12-01

    Persons with brain damage show deviant patterns of co-speech hand movement behaviour in comparison to healthy speakers. It has been claimed by several authors that gesture and speech rely on a single production mechanism that depends on the same neurological substrate while others claim that both modalities are closely related but separate production channels. Thus, findings so far are contradictory and there is a lack of studies that systematically analyse the full range of hand movements that accompany speech in the condition of brain damage. In the present study, we aimed to fill this gap by comparing hand movement behaviour in persons with unilateral brain damage to the left and the right hemisphere and a matched control group of healthy persons. For hand movement coding, we applied Module I of NEUROGES, an objective and reliable analysis system that enables to analyse the full repertoire of hand movements independent of speech, which makes it specifically suited for the examination of persons with aphasia. The main results of our study show a decreased use of communicative conceptual gestures in persons with damage to the right hemisphere and an increased use of these gestures in persons with left brain damage and aphasia. These results not only suggest that the production of gesture and speech do not rely on the same neurological substrate but also underline the important role of right hemisphere functioning for gesture production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. The rubber hand illusion increases heat pain threshold.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegedüs, G; Darnai, G; Szolcsányi, T; Feldmann, Á; Janszky, J; Kállai, J

    2014-09-01

    Accumulating evidence shows that manipulations of cortical body representation, for example, by simply viewing one's own body, can relieve pain in healthy subjects. Despite the widespread use of the rubber hand illusion (RHI) as an effective experimental tool for the manipulation of bodily awareness, previous studies examining the analgesic effect of the RHI have produced conflicting results. We used noxious heat stimuli to induce finger pain in 29 healthy subjects, and we recorded the participants' pain thresholds and subjective pain ratings during the RHI and during the control conditions. Two control conditions were included in our experiment - a standard one with reduced illusion strength (asynchronous stroking control) and an additional one in which the participants viewed their own hand. Raw data showed that both the RHI and the vision of the own hand resulted in slightly higher pain thresholds than the asynchronous stroking control (illusion: 47.79 °C; own-hand: 47.99 °C; asynchronous: 47.52 °C). After logarithmic transformation to achieve normality, paired t-tests revealed that both increases in pain threshold were significant (illusion/asynchronous: p = 0.036; own-hand/asynchronous: p = 0.007). In contrast, there was no significant difference in pain threshold between the illusion and the own-hand conditions (p = 0.656). Pain rating scores were not log-normal, and Wilcoxon singed-rank tests found no significant differences in pain ratings between the study conditions. The RHI increases heat pain threshold and the analgesic effect of the RHI is comparable with that of seeing one's own hand. The latter finding may have clinical implications. © 2014 European Pain Federation - EFIC®

  14. "Like the palm of my hands": Motor imagery enhances implicit and explicit visual recognition of one's own hands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conson, Massimiliano; Volpicella, Francesco; De Bellis, Francesco; Orefice, Agnese; Trojano, Luigi

    2017-10-01

    A key point in motor imagery literature is that judging hands in palm view recruits sensory-motor information to a higher extent than judging hands in back view, due to the greater biomechanical complexity implied in rotating hands depicted from palm than from back. We took advantage from this solid evidence to test the nature of a phenomenon known as self-advantage, i.e. the advantage in implicitly recognizing self vs. others' hand images. The self-advantage has been actually found when implicitly but not explicitly judging self-hands, likely due to dissociation between implicit and explicit body representations. However, such a finding might be related to the extent to which motor imagery is recruited during implicit and explicit processing of hand images. We tested this hypothesis in two behavioural experiments. In Experiment 1, right-handed participants judged laterality of either self or others' hands, whereas in Experiment 2, an explicit recognition of one's own hands was required. Crucially, in both experiments participants were randomly presented with hand images viewed from back or from palm. The main result of both experiments was the self-advantage when participants judged hands from palm view. This novel finding demonstrate that increasing the "motor imagery load" during processing of self vs. others' hands can elicit a self-advantage in explicit recognition tasks as well. Future studies testing the possible dissociation between implicit and explicit visual body representations should take into account the modulatory effect of motor imagery load on self-hand processing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  15. Evidence for neutral neutrino current coupling to right-handed quarks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allaby, J.V.; Amaldi, U.; Barbiellini, G.; Baubillier, M.; Bergsma, F.; Capone, A.; Flegel, W.; Lanceri, L.; Metcalf, M.; Nieuwenhuis, C.; Pain, R.; Panman, J.; Winter, K.; Abt, I.; Blobel, V.; Buengener, A.; Buesser, F.W.; Gall, P.D.; Hebbeker, T.; Niebergall, F.; Staehelin, P.; Borgia, B.; Diemoz, M.; Dionisi, C.; Dore, U.; Ferroni, F.; Longo, E.; Loverre, P.F.; Luminari, L.; Monacelli, P.; Morganti, S.; De Notaristefani, F.; Santacesaria, R.; Santoni, C.; Rome-1 Univ.

    1989-01-01

    Differential cross sections dσ/dy have been measured in semileptonic neutral- and charged-current reactions induced by neutrinos and antineutrinos. The comparison of the neutral- and the charged-current differential cross sections allows the direct determination of the chiral coupling of the neutral (νanti ν) current to left- and right-handed quarks. The result, with a value of g R 2 =0.042±0.010, is the first direct determination, with a significance of more than four standard deviations, of a non-zero value of g R . (orig.)

  16. Search for heavy neutrinos and right-handed W bosons in events with two leptons and jets in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; Abdallah, J.; Chudoba, Jiří; Gallus, Petr; Gunther, Jaroslav; Hruška, I.; Juránek, Vojtěch; Kepka, Oldřich; Kupčo, Alexander; Kůs, Vlastimil; Lipinský, L.; Lokajíček, Miloš; Marčišovský, Michal; Mikeštíková, Marcela; Myška, Miroslav; Němeček, Stanislav; Panušková, M.; Růžička, Pavel; Schovancová, Jaroslava; Šícho, Petr; Staroba, Pavel; Svatoš, Michal; Taševský, Marek; Tic, Tomáš; Valenta, J.; Vrba, Václav; Zeman, Martin

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 72, č. 7 (2012), 1-23 ISSN 1434-6044 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LA08032 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100502 Keywords : ATLAS * LHC * massive neutrino * right-handed W * lepton number violation * left-right symmetry * neutrino Majorana Subject RIV: BF - Elementary Particles and High Energy Physics Impact factor: 5.247, year: 2012 http://arxiv.org/abs/arXiv:1203.5420

  17. Public Participation in Times of Privatisation: A Human Rights Analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.D. Temperman (Jeroen)

    2011-01-01

    markdownabstract__Abstract__ Privatisation may not only affect the enjoyment of the right to public participation itself, but might also impact other substantive rights. This article charts some of the ramifications of privatisation in relation to individual human rights as enshrined in

  18. Altered brain functions in HIV positive patients free of HIV- associated neurocognitive disorders: A MRI study during unilateral hand movements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Zhao

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper aimed to investigate the brain activity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV positive patients with normal cognition during unilateral hand movement and whether highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART could affect the brain function. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI was performed for 60 HIV positive (HIV+ subjects and −42 healthy age-matched right-handed control subjects. Each subject was evaluated by the neuropsychological test and examined with fMRI during left and right hand movement tasks. HIV+ subjects showed greater activation in anterior cingulum, precuneus, occipital lobes, ipsilateral postcentral gyrus and contralateral cerebellum compared with control group during right hand movement task. However, during left hand movement no statistically significant difference was detected between these two groups. HAART medication for HIV+ subjects lowered the increased activity to normal level. Meanwhile patients receiving the regimen of zidovudine, lamivudine and efavirenz showed lower activity at bilateral caudate and ipsilateral inferior frontal gyrus in comparison with subjects receiving other HAART regimens. Therefore, HIV+ subjects demonstrated brain asymmetry in motor cortex, with increased activity present during right hand movement but absent during left hand movement. HAART proves effective in HIV+ subjects even with normal cognition and the specific regimen of HAART could prevent cerebral abnormal functions. Meanwhile, this study validates that during motor tasks, fMRI can detect the brain signal changes prior to the occurrences of other HIV- associated dysfunctions.

  19. Do values of parents influence subjective perspective of children's rights?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urška Flerin

    2000-09-01

    Full Text Available In the paper we research the impact of the value orientation and parent's contentmentwith the fulfilment of the values on subjective experience of children's rights. The project is a part of the international children's rights research, being conducted by International School Psychologist Association (ISPA, which is also being conducted in Slovenia. 194 children from the fourth and the eighth class and one of their parents voluntarily took part in the research. The sample was homogeneous in regard to the demography variables. The following questionnaires were used: The international research of children's rights (questionnaire for children and parents, the Musek's scale of values and The scale of contentment with fulfilment of values (both just for parents. The following working hypothesis, which were partially verified, were placed: (1 There are differences in subjective experience of children's rights from the perspective of a child and the perspective of a parent in regard to different age period of a child. (2 There are differences in subjective experience of children's rights from the perspective of children in regard to the value orientation and parent's contentment with the fulfilment of the values. (3 There are differences in subjective experience of rights from the perspective of children in regard to the different demographic variables. The research showed that the children from the fourth and the eighth class differently experience children's rights. The differences are bigger in the evaluation of the importance of the rights than in the experience of the assertion of the rights. The differences in regard to the view of the children's rights among the children's parents are not significant. The evaluation of the importance of values and the evaluation of the parent's contentment with the fulfilment of the values (mainly of the apollonian type have an important influence on the evaluation of the importance and the adequacy of the

  20. Visual Field Preferences of Object Analysis for Grasping with One Hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ada eLe

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available When we grasp an object using one hand, the opposite hemisphere predominantly guides the motor control of grasp movements (Davare et al. 2007; Rice et al. 2007. However, it is unclear whether visual object analysis for grasp control relies more on inputs (a from the contralateral than the ipsilateral visual field, (b from one dominant visual field regardless of the grasping hand, or (c from both visual fields equally. For bimanual grasping of a single object we have recently demonstrated a visual field preference for the left visual field (Le and Niemeier 2013a, 2013b, consistent with a general right-hemisphere dominance for sensorimotor control of bimanual grasps (Le et al., 2013. But visual field differences have never been tested for unimanual grasping. Therefore, here we asked right-handed participants to fixate to the left or right of an object and then grasp the object either with their right or left hand using a precision grip. We found that participants grasping with their right hand performed better with objects in the right visual field: maximum grip apertures (MGAs were more closely matched to the object width and were smaller than for objects in the left visual field. In contrast, when people grasped with their left hand, preferences switched to the left visual field. What is more, MGA scaling showed greater visual field differences compared to right-hand grasping. Our data suggest that, visual object analysis for unimanual grasping shows a preference for visual information from the ipsilateral visual field, and that the left hemisphere is better equipped to control grasps in both visual fields.

  1. Inflation and leptogenesis from right handed sneutrinos in supergravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peloso, Marco

    2016-01-01

    We describe a supergravity model of inflation where the inflaton is identified with one linerar combination of two right handed sneutrino fields. The potential along the inflationary trajectory is flatter than that of massive chaotic inflation, resulting in a detectable but not ruled out tensor-to-scalar ratio r. In general, the potential for the two sneutrinos has complex phases. As a result, the two neutrinos can develop a nonvanishing lepton charge through a simple modification of the Affleck-Dine mechanism. [This talk summarizes the work of Evans, Ghergetta, and Peloso, Phys. Rev. D 92, no. 2, 021303 (2015) (Ref. 1). Please refer to that work for details and for a more comprehensive list of references.

  2. [Transposition errors during learning to reproduce a sequence by the right- and the left-hand movements: simulation of positional and movement coding].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liakhovetskiĭ, V A; Bobrova, E V; Skopin, G N

    2012-01-01

    Transposition errors during the reproduction of a hand movement sequence make it possible to receive important information on the internal representation of this sequence in the motor working memory. Analysis of such errors showed that learning to reproduce sequences of the left-hand movements improves the system of positional coding (coding ofpositions), while learning of the right-hand movements improves the system of vector coding (coding of movements). Learning of the right-hand movements after the left-hand performance involved the system of positional coding "imposed" by the left hand. Learning of the left-hand movements after the right-hand performance activated the system of vector coding. Transposition errors during learning to reproduce movement sequences can be explained by neural network using either vector coding or both vector and positional coding.

  3. Extracting information from 0νββ decay and LHC pp-cross sections: Limits on the left-right mixing angle and right-handed boson mass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Civitarese, O.; Suhonen, J.; Zuber, K.

    2015-10-01

    The existence of massive neutrinos forces the extension of the Standard Model of electroweak interactions, to accommodate them and/or right-handed currents. This is one of the fundamental questions in todays's physics. The consequences of it would reflect upon several decay processes, like the very exotic nuclear double-beta-decay. By the other hand, high-energy proton-proton reactions of the type performed at the LHC accelerator can provide information about the existence of a right-handed generation of the W and Z-bosons. Here we shall address the possibility of performing a joint analysis of the results reported by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations (σ(pp- > 2l + jets)) and the latest measurements of nuclear-double-beta decays reported by the GERDA and EXO collaborations.

  4. Detection of Heavy Majorana Neutrinos and Right-Handed Bosons

    CERN Document Server

    Gninenko, Sergei; Krasnikov, Nikolai; Matveev, Viktor

    2006-01-01

    The SU_C(3) otimes SU_L(2) otimes SU_R(2) otimes U(1) left-right (LR) symmetric model explains the origin of the parity violation in weak interactions and predicts the existence of additional W_R and Z' gauge bosons. In addition, heavy right-handed Majorana neutrino states N arise naturally within LR symmetric model. The N s could be partners of light neutrino states, related to their non-zero masses through the see-saw mechanism. This makes the searches of W_R, Z' and N interesting and important. This note describes the study of the potential of the CMS experiment to observe signals from the N and W_R production at the LHC. It is shown that their decay signals can be identified with a small background. For the integral LHC luminosity of L_t = 30 fb^ -1, the 5 sigma discovery of W_R - boson and heavy Majorana neutrinos N_e with masses up to 3.5 TeV and 2.3 TeV, respectively is found possible.

  5. Lifelong Learning for the Hand Surgeon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adkinson, Joshua M; Chung, Kevin C

    2015-09-01

    Hand surgeons are faced with the impossible task of mastering a rapidly expanding pool of knowledge and surgical techniques. Dedication to lifelong learning is, therefore, an essential component of delivering the best, most up-to-date care for patients. Board certification, participation in continuing medical education and maintenance of certification activities, and attendance at national meetings are essential mechanisms by which hand surgeons may foster the acquisition of essential knowledge and clinical skills, This article highlights the history, current status, and emerging needs in continuing medical education for the hand surgeon. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Facilitating consumer participation: an approach to finding the 'right' consumer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Happell, Brenda

    2010-01-01

    Contemporary health care increasingly dictates that consumers of services should become active participants in the health care system. This has placed responsibility on administrators, managers and clinicians to include consumers in key strategic and decision making initiatives. However, this direction has not been accompanied by clear policies or guidelines. Consequently confusion about selecting consumers able to provide valuable input is identified as a barrier to active consumer involvement. The purpose of this paper is to address some concerns raised in the quest to find the "right" consumer, including: finding a consumer without an axe to grind; ensuring the consumer is representative of broader views; health professionals as consumer representatives. While these concerns are common they have not yet been extensively debated and discussed in the broader Literature. Strategies necessary to support consumers in participatory roles are also considered and the controversial subject of financial remuneration for consumers is also explored.

  7. The advantage of a decreasing right-hand superiority: the influence of laterality on a selected musical skill (sight reading achievement).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kopiez, Reinhard; Galley, Niels; Lee, Ji In

    2006-01-01

    In this study, the unrehearsed performance of music, known as 'sight reading', is used as a model to examine the influence of motoric laterality on highly challenging musical performance skills. As expertise research has shown, differences in this skill can be partially explained by factors such as accumulated practise and an early start to training. However, up until now, neurobiological factors that may influence highly demanding instrumental performance have been widely neglected. In an experiment with 52 piano students at a German university music department, we could show that the most challenging musical skill, sight reading (which is characterized by extreme demands on the performer's real time information processing), is positively correlated with decreasing right-hand superiority of performers. Laterality was measured by the differences between left and right-hand performance in a speed tapping task. SR achievement was measured using an accompanying task paradigm. An overall superiority of 22% for non-right-handed pianists was found. This effect is gender-related and stronger in non-right-handed males (r(24) = -0.49, p0.05). We conclude that non-right-handed motoric laterality is associated with neurobiological advantages required for sight reading, an extremely demanding musical subskill.

  8. Quantitative impact of direct, personal feedback on hand hygiene technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehotsky, Á; Szilágyi, L; Ferenci, T; Kovács, L; Pethes, R; Wéber, G; Haidegger, T

    2015-09-01

    This study investigated the effectiveness of targeting hand hygiene technique using a new training device that provides objective, personal and quantitative feedback. One hundred and thirty-six healthcare workers in three Hungarian hospitals participated in a repetitive hand hygiene technique assessment study. Ultraviolet (UV)-labelled hand rub was used at each event, and digital images of the hands were subsequently taken under UV light. Immediate objective visual feedback was given to participants, showing missed areas on their hands. The rate of inadequate hand rubbing reduced from 50% to 15% (P < 0.001). However, maintenance of this reduced rate is likely to require continuous use of the electronic equipment. Copyright © 2015 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Two hands are better than one: a new assessment method and a new interpretation of the non-visual illusion of self-touch.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Rebekah C; Aimola Davies, Anne M; Davies, Martin

    2011-09-01

    A simple experimental paradigm creates the powerful illusion that one is touching one's own hand even when the two hands are separated by 15 cm. The participant uses her right hand to administer stimulation to a prosthetic hand while the Examiner provides identical stimulation to the participant's receptive left hand. Change in felt position of the receptive hand toward the prosthetic hand has previously led to the interpretation that the participant experiences self-touch at the location of the prosthetic hand, and experiences a sense of ownership of the prosthetic hand. Our results argue against this interpretation. We assessed change in felt position of the participant's receptive hand but we also assessed change in felt position of the participant's administering hand. Change in felt position of the administering hand was significantly greater than change in felt position of the receptive hand. Implications for theories of ownership are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Hand Preference for Precision Grasping Predicts Language Lateralization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Claudia L. R.; Goodale, Melvyn A.

    2009-01-01

    We investigated whether or not there is a relationship between hand preference for grasping and hemispheric dominance for language--and how each of these is related to other traditional measures of handedness. To do this we asked right- and left-handed participants to put together two different sets of 3D puzzles made out of big or very small…

  11. A "Child's Rights Perspective": The "Right" of Children and Young People to Participate in Health Care Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clarke, Sonya

    2015-01-01

    As all human beings are consumers of health care provision across the life span and in receipt of care delivered by accountable health care professionals, all should have the right to be involved in shaping the future of their own health care. Rights-based participation, when applied successfully, has the potential to inform and influence the delivery of child health care, the child's experience of health care, plus children's nursing education (Coyne & Gallagher, 2011). The "right" of every child and young person to participate in research that relates to their own health care is also sustained by the author's lead position as a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education for pre-registration children's nursing in Northern Ireland and the appreciation of their voice when practicing as a registered children's nurse and ward sister. The report provides an insight into seminal work on human and child rights; the historical context of children in Western society, and the evolution of children's nursing amid the child's right to participate in shaping their own health care.

  12. Mental rotation of anthropoid hands: a chronometric study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.G. Gawryszewski

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available It has been shown that mental rotation of objects and human body parts is processed differently in the human brain. But what about body parts belonging to other primates? Does our brain process this information like any other object or does it instead maximize the structural similarities with our homologous body parts? We tried to answer this question by measuring the manual reaction time (MRT of human participants discriminating the handedness of drawings representing the hands of four anthropoid primates (orangutan, chimpanzee, gorilla, and human. Twenty-four right-handed volunteers (13 males and 11 females were instructed to judge the handedness of a hand drawing in palm view by pressing a left/right key. The orientation of hand drawings varied from 0º (fingers upwards to 90º lateral (fingers pointing away from the midline, 180º (fingers downwards and 90º medial (finger towards the midline. The results showed an effect of rotation angle (F(3, 69 = 19.57, P < 0.001, but not of hand identity, on MRTs. Moreover, for all hand drawings, a medial rotation elicited shorter MRTs than a lateral rotation (960 and 1169 ms, respectively, P < 0.05. This result has been previously observed for drawings of the human hand and related to biomechanical constraints of movement performance. Our findings indicate that anthropoid hands are essentially equivalent stimuli for handedness recognition. Since the task involves mentally simulating the posture and rotation of the hands, we wondered if "mirror neurons" could be involved in establishing the motor equivalence between the stimuli and the participants' own hands.

  13. Extracting information from 0νββ decay and LHC pp-cross sections: Limits on the left-right mixing angle and right-handed boson mass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Civitarese, O., E-mail: osvaldo.civitarese@fisica.unlp.edu.ar [Departamento de Física, UNLP, C.C. 67, (1900) La Plata (Argentina); Suhonen, J. [University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Physics, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 (Finland); Zuber, K. [Department of Physics, TU-University, Dresden (Germany)

    2015-10-28

    The existence of massive neutrinos forces the extension of the Standard Model of electroweak interactions, to accommodate them and/or right-handed currents. This is one of the fundamental questions in todays’s physics. The consequences of it would reflect upon several decay processes, like the very exotic nuclear double-beta-decay. By the other hand, high-energy proton-proton reactions of the type performed at the LHC accelerator can provide information about the existence of a right-handed generation of the W and Z-bosons. Here we shall address the possibility of performing a joint analysis of the results reported by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations (σ(pp− > 2l + jets)) and the latest measurements of nuclear-double-beta decays reported by the GERDA and EXO collaborations.

  14. Electromyogram synergy control of a dexterous artificial hand to unscrew and screw objects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kent, Benjamin A; Karnati, Nareen; Engeberg, Erik D

    2014-03-21

    Due to their limited dexterity, it is currently not possible to use a commercially available prosthetic hand to unscrew or screw objects without using elbow and shoulder movements. For these tasks, prosthetic hands function like a wrench, which is unnatural and limits their use in tight working environments. Results from timed rotational tasks with human subjects demonstrate the clinical need for increased dexterity of prosthetic hands, and a clinically viable solution to this problem is presented for an anthropomorphic artificial hand. Initially, a human hand motion analysis was performed during a rotational task. From these data, human hand synergies were derived and mapped to an anthropomorphic artificial hand. The synergy for the artificial hand is controlled using conventional dual site electromyogram (EMG) signals. These EMG signals were mapped to the developed synergy to control four joints of the dexterous artificial hand simultaneously.Five limb absent and ten able-bodied test subjects participated in a comparison study to complete a timed rotational task as quickly as possible with their natural hands (except for one subject with a bilateral hand absence), eight commercially available prosthetic hands, and the proposed synergy controller. Each test subject used two to four different artificial hands. With the able-bodied subjects, the developed synergy controller reduced task completion time by 177% on average. The limb absent subjects completed the task faster on average than with their own prostheses by 46%. There was a statistically significant improvement in task completion time with the synergy controller for three of the four limb absent participants with integrated prostheses, and was not statistically different for the fourth. The proposed synergy controller reduced average task completion time compared to commercially available prostheses. Additionally, the synergy controller is able to function in a small workspace and requires less physical

  15. Primary Motor Cortex Excitability Is Modulated During the Mental Simulation of Hand Movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyde, Christian; Fuelscher, Ian; Lum, Jarrad A G; Williams, Jacqueline; He, Jason; Enticott, Peter G

    2017-02-01

    It is unclear whether the primary motor cortex (PMC) is involved in the mental simulation of movement [i.e., motor imagery (MI)]. The present study aimed to clarify PMC involvement using a highly novel adaptation of the hand laterality task (HLT). Participants were administered single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the hand area of the left PMC (hPMC) at either 50 ms, 400 ms, or 650 ms post stimulus presentation. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from the right first dorsal interosseous via electromyography. To avoid the confound of gross motor response, participant response (indicating left or right hand) was recorded via eye tracking. Participants were 22 healthy adults (18 to 36 years), 16 whose behavioral profile on the HLT was consistent with the use of a MI strategy (MI users). hPMC excitability increased significantly during HLT performance for MI users, evidenced by significantly larger right hand MEPs following single-pulse TMS 50 ms, 400 ms, and 650 ms post stimulus presentation relative to baseline. Subsequent analysis showed that hPMC excitability was greater for more complex simulated hand movements, where hand MEPs at 50 ms were larger for biomechanically awkward movements (i.e., hands requiring lateral rotation) compared to simpler movements (i.e., hands requiring medial rotation). These findings provide support for the modulation of PMC excitability during the HLT attributable to MI, and may indicate a role for the PMC during MI. (JINS, 2017, 23, 185-193).

  16. Embodied neurofeedback with an anthropomorphic robotic hand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, Niclas; Emkes, Reiner; Thorne, Jeremy D.; Debener, Stefan

    2016-01-01

    Neurofeedback-guided motor imagery training (NF-MIT) has been suggested as a promising therapy for stroke-induced motor impairment. Whereas much NF-MIT research has aimed at signal processing optimization, the type of sensory feedback given to the participant has received less attention. Often the feedback signal is highly abstract and not inherently coupled to the mental act performed. In this study, we asked whether an embodied feedback signal is more efficient for neurofeedback operation than a non-embodiable feedback signal. Inspired by the rubber hand illusion, demonstrating that an artificial hand can be incorporated into one’s own body scheme, we used an anthropomorphic robotic hand to visually guide the participants’ motor imagery act and to deliver neurofeedback. Using two experimental manipulations, we investigated how a participant’s neurofeedback performance and subjective experience were influenced by the embodiability of the robotic hand, and by the neurofeedback signal’s validity. As pertains to embodiment, we found a promoting effect of robotic-hand embodiment in subjective, behavioral, electrophysiological and electrodermal measures. Regarding neurofeedback signal validity, we found some differences between real and sham neurofeedback in terms of subjective and electrodermal measures, but not in terms of behavioral and electrophysiological measures. This study motivates the further development of embodied feedback signals for NF-MIT. PMID:27869190

  17. Framing effects: the influence of handedness and access to right hemisphere processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Jeannette M

    2012-01-01

    Changing how information is framed, such that the same critical information is cast in a positive or negative light, has a powerful impact on judgements and decision making. Research indicates that the influence of frames may be driven by participants' initial affective response and that the right hemisphere is sensitive to the emotional connotation of stimuli. While previous research tested the effects of hemispheric differences on framing effects by inducing asymmetrical activation, the current study explored how stable brain differences may account for differences in susceptibility to framing effects. Because mixed degree of handedness is associated with increased access to right hemisphere processes, mixed-handed participants were expected to be more susceptible to the effects of framing than strong-handed participants. Participants responded to the Asian disease problem and completed as assessment of handedness. Although mixed- and strong-handed participants were affected differently, the results were not consistent with the hypothesis. Mixed-handed participants conformed to risky choice framing effects when options were framed negatively and showed no effect of the positive frame. Strong-handed participants conformed to positively framed options and showed no effect of the negative frame. Possible explanations are discussed.

  18. Getting Their Hands Dirty: Qualitative Study on Hands-on Learning for Architectural Students in Design-build Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zunaibi B. Abdullah

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available This qualitative study provides an in-depth perspective of hands-on learning through the observation and analysis of architectural students' views in a design-build program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during the fall semester of 2008. Qualitative data was gathered from 14 participants involved in the construction of a low energy double-storey house in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. The study inventoried the requisite characteristics of a design-build course. Participants' views and activities were studied to ascribe the qualitative benefits of hands-on learning. In addition, students' motivation towards hands-on activities were evaluated in reference to student confidence and independence levels towards their future career as architects, designers or other design-build professionals. The findings showed the design-build course could offer a specific knowledge that link between theoretical subjects and the practical expect of building contractions.

  19. Visual capture of action, experience of ownership, and the illusion of self-touch: a new rubber hand paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aimola Davies, Anne M; White, Rebekah C; Thew, Graham; Aimola, Natalie M V; Davies, Martin

    2010-01-01

    A new rubber hand paradigm evokes an illusion with three conceptually distinct components: (i) the participant experiences her/his hidden right hand as administering touch at the location of the examiner's viewed administering hand (visual capture of action); (ii) the participant experiences the examiner's administering hand as being the participant's own hand (experience of ownership); and (iii) the participant experiences her/his two hands as being in contact, as if she/he were touching her/his own hand (illusion of self-touch). The presence of these illusory experiences was confirmed by questionnaire responses and proprioceptive drift data.

  20. Hand Grip Strength Vs. Sprint Effectiveness in Amputee Soccer Players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wieczorek, Marta; Wiliński, Wojciech; Struzik, Artur; Rokita, Andrzej

    2015-11-22

    Amputee soccer is one of the types of soccer designed for the disabled, especially those who have undergone amputations, as well as those with extremity dysfunction. The objective of the study was to find the relationship between hand grip strength and sprint time in amputee soccer players. Thirteen field amputee soccer players participated in the study. A SAEHAN hydraulic hand dynamometer manufactured by Jamar was used for hand grip strength measurements. The sprint running test was conducted over a distance of 30 m. The Fusion Smart Speed System was employed for running time measurements. No statistically significant relationships were found between hand grip strength of the left or right hand, and sprint times over 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 m. Analysis of the running velocity curve of the subjects showed an interesting profile characterized by a 15 meter-long acceleration phase and a significant velocity increase over a distance of 20 - 25 m. The study suggests that there is no relationship between hand grip strength and sprint effectiveness in amputee soccer players. The specificity of locomotion with the use of elbow crutches among elite Polish amputee soccer players probably accounts for the profile of the sprint velocity curve. Extension of the acceleration phase in the sprint run and a velocity increase in the subsequent part of the run were observed.

  1. Hand Grip Strength Vs. Sprint Effectiveness in Amputee Soccer Players

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wieczorek Marta

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Amputee soccer is one of the types of soccer designed for the disabled, especially those who have undergone amputations, as well as those with extremity dysfunction. The objective of the study was to find the relationship between hand grip strength and sprint time in amputee soccer players. Thirteen field amputee soccer players participated in the study. A SAEHAN hydraulic hand dynamometer manufactured by Jamar was used for hand grip strength measurements. The sprint running test was conducted over a distance of 30 m. The Fusion Smart Speed System was employed for running time measurements. No statistically significant relationships were found between hand grip strength of the left or right hand, and sprint times over 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 m. Analysis of the running velocity curve of the subjects showed an interesting profile characterized by a 15 meter-long acceleration phase and a significant velocity increase over a distance of 20 – 25 m. The study suggests that there is no relationship between hand grip strength and sprint effectiveness in amputee soccer players. The specificity of locomotion with the use of elbow crutches among elite Polish amputee soccer players probably accounts for the profile of the sprint velocity curve. Extension of the acceleration phase in the sprint run and a velocity increase in the subsequent part of the run were observed.

  2. challenges left-handed students face in kenyan girls' secondary

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    IICBA01

    Previous research on left-handedness has mainly taken place in developed countries. This ... participants were five left-handed science students and their respective subject teachers from a ... Qualitative data was collected through classroom.

  3. Specialization of the left supramarginal gyrus for hand-independent praxis representation is not related to hand dominance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Króliczak, Gregory; Piper, Brian J.; Frey, Scott H.

    2016-01-01

    Data from focal brain injury and functional neuroimaging studies implicate a distributed network of parieto-fronto-temporal areas in the human left cerebral hemisphere as playing distinct roles in the representation of meaningful actions (praxis). Because these data come primarily from right-handed individuals, the relationship between left cerebral specialization for praxis representation and hand dominance remains unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate the hypothesis that strongly left-handed (right hemisphere motor dominant) adults also exhibit this left cerebral specialization. Participants planned familiar actions for subsequent performance with the left or right hand in response to transitive (e.g., “pounding”) or intransitive (e.g. “waving”) action words. In linguistic control trials, cues denoted non-physical actions (e.g., “believing”). Action planning was associated with significant, exclusively left-lateralized and extensive increases of activity in the supramarginal gyrus (SMg), and more focal modulations in the left caudal middle temporal gyrus (cMTg). This activity was hand- and gesture-independent, i.e., unaffected by the hand involved in subsequent action performance, and the type of gesture (i.e., transitive or intransitive). Compared directly with right-handers, left-handers exhibited greater involvement of the right angular gyrus (ANg) and dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC), which is indicative of a less asymmetric functional architecture for praxis representation. We therefore conclude that the organization of mechanisms involved in planning familiar actions is influenced by one’s motor dominance. However, independent of hand dominance, the left SMg and cMTg are specialized for ideomotor transformations—the integration of conceptual knowledge and motor representations into meaningful actions. These findings support the view that higher-order praxis representation and lower-level motor dominance rely

  4. Body ownership and agency: task-dependent effects of the virtual hand illusion on proprioceptive drift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibuya, Satoshi; Unenaka, Satoshi; Ohki, Yukari

    2017-01-01

    Body ownership and agency are fundamental to self-consciousness. These bodily experiences have been intensively investigated using the rubber hand illusion, wherein participants perceive a fake hand as their own. After presentation of the illusion, the position of the participant's hand then shifts toward the location of the fake hand (proprioceptive drift). However, it remains controversial whether proprioceptive drift is able to provide an objective measurement of body ownership, and whether agency also affects drift. Using the virtual hand illusion (VHI), the current study examined the effects of body ownership and agency on proprioceptive drift, with three different visuo-motor tasks. Twenty healthy adults (29.6 ± 9.2 years old) completed VH manipulations using their right hand under a 2 × 2 factorial design (active vs. passive manipulation, and congruent vs. incongruent virtual hand). Prior to and after VH manipulation, three different tasks were performed to assess proprioceptive drift, in which participants were unable to see their real hands. The effects of the VHI on proprioceptive drift were task-dependent. When participants were required to judge the position of their right hand using a ruler, or by reaching toward a visual target, both body ownership and agency modulated proprioceptive drift. Comparatively, when participants aligned both hands, drift was influenced by ownership but not agency. These results suggest that body ownership and agency might differentially modulate various body representations in the brain.

  5. An autopsy case of right ventricular cardiac metastasis from squamous cell carcinoma of the left hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Kondo

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available We here report a 60-year-old woman in whom autopsy revealed a metastasis in the right cardiac ventricle from a well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC of the left hand. The tumors in the myocardium and left hand were both well-differentiated SCCs with keratinization and sporadic keratin pearls. High concentrations of heart failure markers together with a pericardial effusion suggested antemortem chronic heart failure. Our case is particularly unusual because there were no regional lymph node metastases and the cardiac metastasis was not one of multiple metastases; thus, hematogenous metastasis to the right side of the heart alone had occurred.

  6. Subclinical changes in MRI-determined right ventricular volumes and function in subjects with prediabetes and diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patscheider, Hannah; Lorbeer, Roberto; Auweter, Sigrid; Schafnitzel, Anina; Bayerl, Christian; Curta, Adrian; Rathmann, Wolfgang; Heier, Margit; Meisinger, Christa; Peters, Annette; Bamberg, Fabian; Hetterich, Holger

    2018-07-01

    The aim of this study was to assess subclinical changes in right ventricular volumes and function in subjects with prediabetes and diabetes and controls without a history of cardiovascular disease. Data from 400 participants in the KORA FF4 study without self-reported cardiovascular disease who underwent 3-T whole-body MRI were obtained. The right ventricle was evaluated using the short axis and a four-chamber view. Diabetes was defined according to WHO criteria. Associations between glucose tolerance and right ventricular parameters were assessed using multivariable adjusted linear regression models. Data from 337 participants were available for analysis. Of these, 43 (13%) had diabetes, 87 (26%) had prediabetes, and 207 (61%) were normoglycaemic controls. There was a stepwise decrease in right ventricular volumes in men with prediabetes and diabetes in comparison with controls, including right ventricular end-diastolic volume (β = -20.4 and β = -25.6, respectively; p ≤ 0.005), right ventricular end-systolic volume (β = -12.3 and β = -12.7, respectively; p ≤ 0.037) and right ventricular stroke volume (β = -8.1 and β = -13.1, respectively, p ≤ 0.016). We did not observe any association between prediabetes or diabetes and right ventricular volumes in women or between prediabetes or diabetes and right ventricular ejection fraction in men and women. This study points towards early subclinical changes in right ventricular volumes in men with diabetes and prediabetes. • MRI was used to detect subclinical changes in right ventricular parameters. • Diabetes mellitus is associated with right ventricular dysfunction. • Impairment of right ventricular volumes seems to occur predominantly in men.

  7. Pseudoneglect in line bisection judgement is associated with a modulation of right hemispheric spatial attention dominance in right-handers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zago, Laure; Petit, Laurent; Jobard, Gael; Hay, Julien; Mazoyer, Bernard; Tzourio-Mazoyer, Nathalie; Karnath, Hans-Otto; Mellet, Emmanuel

    2017-01-08

    The objective of this study was to validate a line bisection judgement (LBJ) task for use in investigating the lateralized cerebral bases of spatial attention in a sample of 51 right-handed healthy participants. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the participants performed a LBJ task that was compared to a visuomotor control task during which the participants made similar saccadic and motoric responses. Cerebral lateralization was determined using a voxel-based functional asymmetry analysis and a hemispheric functional lateralization index (HFLI) computed from fMRI contrast images. Behavioural attentional deviation biases were assessed during the LBJ task and a "paper and pencil" symbol cancellation task (SCT). Individual visuospatial skills were also evaluated. The results showed that both the LBJ and SCT tasks elicited leftward spatial biases in healthy subjects, although the biases were not correlated, which indicated their independence. Neuroimaging results showed that the LBJ task elicited a right hemispheric lateralization, with rightward asymmetries found in a large posterior occipito-parietal area, the posterior calcarine sulcus (V1p) and the temporo-occipital junction (TOJ) and in the inferior frontal gyrus, the anterior insula and the superior medial frontal gyrus. The comparison of the LBJ asymmetry map to the lesion map of neglect patients who suffer line bisection deviation demonstrated maximum overlap in a network that included the middle occipital gyrus (MOG), the TOJ, the anterior insula and the inferior frontal region, likely subtending spatial LBJ bias. Finally, the LBJ task-related cerebral lateralization was specifically correlated with the LBJ spatial bias but not with the SCT bias or with the visuospatial skills of the participants. Taken together, these results demonstrated that the LBJ task is adequate for investigating spatial lateralization in healthy subjects and is suitable for determining the factors underlying the

  8. Functional language shift to the right hemisphere in patients with language-eloquent brain tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krieg, Sandro M; Sollmann, Nico; Hauck, Theresa; Ille, Sebastian; Foerschler, Annette; Meyer, Bernhard; Ringel, Florian

    2013-01-01

    Language function is mainly located within the left hemisphere of the brain, especially in right-handed subjects. However, functional MRI (fMRI) has demonstrated changes of language organization in patients with left-sided perisylvian lesions to the right hemisphere. Because intracerebral lesions can impair fMRI, this study was designed to investigate human language plasticity with a virtual lesion model using repetitive navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Fifteen patients with lesions of left-sided language-eloquent brain areas and 50 healthy and purely right-handed participants underwent bilateral rTMS language mapping via an object-naming task. All patients were proven to have left-sided language function during awake surgery. The rTMS-induced language errors were categorized into 6 different error types. The error ratio (induced errors/number of stimulations) was determined for each brain region on both hemispheres. A hemispheric dominance ratio was then defined for each region as the quotient of the error ratio (left/right) of the corresponding area of both hemispheres (ratio >1 = left dominant; ratio right dominant). Patients with language-eloquent lesions showed a statistically significantly lower ratio than healthy participants concerning "all errors" and "all errors without hesitations", which indicates a higher participation of the right hemisphere in language function. Yet, there was no cortical region with pronounced difference in language dominance compared to the whole hemisphere. This is the first study that shows by means of an anatomically accurate virtual lesion model that a shift of language function to the non-dominant hemisphere can occur.

  9. Effect of hand sanitizer location on hand hygiene compliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cure, Laila; Van Enk, Richard

    2015-09-01

    Hand hygiene is the most important intervention to prevent infection in hospitals. Health care workers should clean their hands at least before and after contact with patients. Hand sanitizer dispensers are important to support hand hygiene because they can be made available throughout hospital units. The aim of this study was to determine whether the usability of sanitizer dispensers correlates with compliance of staff in using the sanitizer in a hospital. This study took place in a Midwest, 404-bed, private, nonprofit community hospital with 15 inpatient care units in addition to several ambulatory units. The usability and standardization of sanitizers in 12 participating inpatient units were evaluated. The hospital measured compliance of staff with hand hygiene as part of their quality improvement program. Data from 2010-2012 were analyzed to measure the relationship between compliance and usability using mixed-effects logistic regression models. The total usability score (P = .0046), visibility (P = .003), and accessibility of the sanitizer on entrance to the patient room (P = .00055) were statistically associated with higher observed compliance rates. Standardization alone showed no significant impact on observed compliance (P = .37). Hand hygiene compliance can be influenced by visibility and accessibility of dispensers. The sanitizer location should be part of multifaceted interventions to improve hand hygiene. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. A compact very wideband amplifying filter based on RTD loaded composite right/left-handed transmission lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Marasa, Mahmoud O Mahmoud; El-Khozondar, Hala Jarallah

    2015-01-01

    The composite right/left-handed (CRLH) transmission line (TL) is presented as a general TL possessing both left-handed (LH) and right-handed (RH) natures. RH materials have both positive permittivity and positive permeability, and LH materials have both negative permittivity and negative permeability. This paper aims to design and analyze nonlinear CRLH-TL transmission line loaded with resonant tunneling diode (RTD). The main application of this design is a very wideband and compact filter that amplifies the travelling signal. We used OrCAD and ADS software to analyze the proposed circuit. CRLH-TL consists of a microstrip line which is loaded with complementary split-rings resonators (CSRRs), series gaps, and shunt inductor connected parallel to the RTD. The designed structure possess a wide band that ranges from 5 to 10.5 GHz and amplifies signal up to 50 %. The proposed design is of interest to microwave compact component designers.

  11. Cerebral asymmetry for mental rotation: effects of response hand, handedness and gender.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Blake W; McKenzie, Kirsten J; Hamm, Jeff P

    2002-10-28

    We assessed lateralization of brain function during mental rotation, measuring the scalp distribution of a 400-600 ms latency event-related potential (ERP) with 128 recording electrodes. Twenty-four subjects, consisting of equal numbers of dextral and sinistral males and females, performed a mental rotation task under two response conditions (dominant non-dominant hand). For males, ERPs showed a right parietal bias regardless of response hand. For females, the parietal ERPs were slightly left-lateralized when making dominant hand responses, but strongly right-lateralized when making non-dominant hand responses. These results support the notion that visuo-spatial processing is more bilaterally organized in females. However, left hemisphere resources may be allocated to response preparation when using the non-dominant hand, forcing visuo-spatial processing to the right hemisphere.

  12. Short and longer duration effects of protective gloves on hand performance capabilities and subjective assessments in a screw-driving task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dianat, Iman; Haslegrave, Christine M; Stedmon, Alex W

    2010-12-01

    The study investigated short and longer duration effects of gloves on hand performance capabilities (muscle activity, dexterity, touch sensitivity, finger pinch and forearm torque strength) and subjective assessments of discomfort and ease of manipulation when performing a light assembly task. The independent variables were hand condition with four levels (wearing cotton, nylon or nitrile gloves as well as barehanded) and point of time within the 2 h duration of the task (with measurements taken at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min). Participants worked with a screwdriver to fit two components together using screws. Wearing gloves significantly increased the muscle activity, pinch strength and discomfort but reduced the dexterity and touch sensitivity. There was also a significant effect of task time on the muscle activity, dexterity, forearm torque strength and touch sensitivity, which indicates that the duration of the task should be an important consideration in glove evaluation studies and in the selection of work gloves. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: It is important to evaluate the effects of gloves on hand performance capabilities in a working context so that job demands can be taken into account and the most appropriate type of glove be chosen for each task. This study gives recommendations regarding the evaluation and use of gloves for screw-driving tasks.

  13. Subjective, behavioral, and physiological responses to the rubber hand illusion do not vary with age in the adult phase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palomo, Priscila; Borrego, Adrián; Cebolla, Ausiàs; Llorens, Roberto; Demarzo, Marcelo; Baños, Rosa M

    2018-02-01

    The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) is a perceptual illusion that enables integration of artificial limbs into the body representation through combined multisensory integration. Most previous studies investigating the RHI have involved young healthy adults within a very narrow age range (typically 20-30 years old). The purpose of this paper was to determine the influence of age on the RHI. The RHI was performed on 93 healthy adults classified into three groups of age (20-35 years old, N = 41; 36-60 years old, N = 28; and 61-80 years old, N = 24), and its effects were measured with subjective (Embodiment of Rubber Hand Questionnaire), behavioral (proprioceptive drift), and physiological (changes in skin temperature and conductance) measures. There were neither significant differences among groups in any response, nor significant covariability or correlation between age and other measures (but for skin temperature), which suggests that the RHI elicits similar responses across different age groups in the adult phase. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Short-lived brain state after cued motor imagery in naive subjects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pfurtscheller, G.; Scherer, R.; Müller-Putz, G.R.; Lopes da Silva, F.H.

    2008-01-01

    Multi-channel electroencephalography recordings have shown that a visual cue, indicating right hand, left hand or foot motor imagery, can induce a short-lived brain state in the order of about 500 ms. In the present study, 10 able-bodied subjects without any motor imagery experience (naive subjects)

  15. Hand hygiene in hospital environments: use of conformity indicators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thaíne Cristina Romualdo dos SANTOS

    Full Text Available An exploratory descriptive study with a quantitative approach whose objective was to use indicators to evaluate the frequency and infrastructure for hand hygiene, as well as the nursing team's knowledge about the subject. Systematized observation was carried out at hospital in the state of São Paulo, Brazil of the routine activities of 33 participating professionals (nurses and technicians as well as the application of an individual questionnaire about the subject.1206 opportunities for hand hygiene were identified, though it was effected in only 481 (39.9% of them. Alcohol solution was not used at any opportunity. The infrastructure indicator for hand hygiene was close to the ideal value (83.3%. The professionals reported a high frequency of hand hygiene, demonstrating knowledge in relation to its importance, yet contradicting the findings of the observation. It was concluded that, despite the adequate infrastructure, hand hygiene was below that expected, requiring actions and strategies to overcomes these barrier and increase the use of alcohol solution.

  16. Effects of combining 2 weeks of passive sensory stimulation with active hand motor training in healthy adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aija Marie Ladda

    Full Text Available The gold standard to acquire motor skills is through intensive training and practicing. Recent studies have demonstrated that behavioral gains can also be acquired by mere exposure to repetitive sensory stimulation to drive the plasticity processes. Single application of repetitive electric stimulation (rES of the fingers has been shown to improve tactile perception in young adults as well as sensorimotor performance in healthy elderly individuals. The combination of repetitive motor training with a preceding rES has not been reported yet. In addition, the impact of such a training on somatosensory tactile and spatial sensitivity as well as on somatosensory cortical activation remains elusive. Therefore, we tested 15 right-handed participants who underwent repetitive electric stimulation of all finger tips of the left hand for 20 minutes prior to one hour of motor training of the left hand over the period of two weeks. Overall, participants substantially improved the motor performance of the left trained hand by 34%, but also showed a relevant transfer to the untrained right hand by 24%. Baseline ipsilateral activation fMRI-magnitude in BA 1 to sensory index finger stimulation predicted training outcome for somatosensory guided movements: those who showed higher ipsilateral activation were those who did profit less from training. Improvement of spatial tactile discrimination was positively associated with gains in pinch grip velocity. Overall, a combination of priming rES and repetitive motor training is capable to induce motor and somatosensory performance increase and representation changes in BA1 in healthy young subjects.

  17. Radiative neutrino mass model with degenerate right-handed neutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kashiwase, Shoichi; Suematsu, Daijiro

    2016-01-01

    The radiative neutrino mass model can relate neutrino masses and dark matter at a TeV scale. If we apply this model to thermal leptogenesis, we need to consider resonant leptogenesis at that scale. It requires both finely degenerate masses for the right-handed neutrinos and a tiny neutrino Yukawa coupling. We propose an extension of the model with a U(1) gauge symmetry, in which these conditions are shown to be simultaneously realized through a TeV scale symmetry breaking. Moreover, this extension can bring about a small quartic scalar coupling between the Higgs doublet scalar and an inert doublet scalar which characterizes the radiative neutrino mass generation. It also is the origin of the Z 2 symmetry which guarantees the stability of dark matter. Several assumptions which are independently supposed in the original model are closely connected through this extension. (orig.)

  18. Right-Hand Side Dependent Bounds for GMRES Applied to Ill-Posed Problems

    KAUST Repository

    Pestana, Jennifer

    2014-01-01

    © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2014. In this paper we apply simple GMRES bounds to the nearly singular systems that arise in ill-posed problems. Our bounds depend on the eigenvalues of the coefficient matrix, the right-hand side vector and the nonnormality of the system. The bounds show that GMRES residuals initially decrease, as residual components associated with large eigenvalues are reduced, after which semi-convergence can be expected because of the effects of small eigenvalues.

  19. The participation of minors in preventive HIV research trials in South Africa: legal and human rights considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Wyk, Christa

    2003-01-01

    The constitutional prohibition of experimentation/research without the individual subject's (own) consent is investigated. A distinction is drawn between therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. A minor of 14 is competent to consent independently to medical treatment (which would include therapeutic research), but not to non-therapeutic research. A minor must be at least 18 years to be able to do so. Proxy consent can be secured for the participation of minors under 18 in non-therapeutic research only if they assent, if their participation in the research is indispensable and the research carries no more than negligible risk. Since the risks inherent in HIV preventive vaccine trials may carry more than negligible risk, these trials may not be carried out on children under 18. The limitation of rights and the consideration of foreign and international law in the interpretation of the South African Bill of Rights are investigated.

  20. Visual appearance of a virtual upper limb modulates the temperature of the real hand: a thermal imaging study in Immersive Virtual Reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tieri, Gaetano; Gioia, Annamaria; Scandola, Michele; Pavone, Enea F; Aglioti, Salvatore M

    2017-05-01

    To explore the link between Sense of Embodiment (SoE) over a virtual hand and physiological regulation of skin temperature, 24 healthy participants were immersed in virtual reality through a Head Mounted Display and had their real limb temperature recorded by means of a high-sensitivity infrared camera. Participants observed a virtual right upper limb (appearing either normally, or with the hand detached from the forearm) or limb-shaped non-corporeal control objects (continuous or discontinuous wooden blocks) from a first-person perspective. Subjective ratings of SoE were collected in each observation condition, as well as temperatures of the right and left hand, wrist and forearm. The observation of these complex, body and body-related virtual scenes resulted in increased real hand temperature when compared to a baseline condition in which a 3d virtual ball was presented. Crucially, observation of non-natural appearances of the virtual limb (discontinuous limb) and limb-shaped non-corporeal objects elicited high increase in real hand temperature and low SoE. In contrast, observation of the full virtual limb caused high SoE and low temperature changes in the real hand with respect to the other conditions. Interestingly, the temperature difference across the different conditions occurred according to a topographic rule that included both hands. Our study sheds new light on the role of an external hand's visual appearance and suggests a tight link between higher-order bodily self-representations and topographic regulation of skin temperature. © 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Solving modified systems with multiple right-hand sides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Simoncini, V.; Gallopoulos, E. [Univ. of Patras (Greece)

    1996-12-31

    In this talk we discuss the iterative solution of large linear systems of the form (A + USV{sup H})X = B, where A is an n x n non-Hermitian matrix, USV{sup H} is a rank-r modification of A and B is of rank s with s, r {much_lt} n. We analyze several approaches that exploit the structure of the coefficient matrix so as to solve the systems more efficiently than if one were to apply a non-hermitian solver to the original systems. In the development of procedures, we take into account the presence of both the low-rank modification and the several right-hand sides. Interesting issues connected to this problem originate from the quest for techniques that accelerate the underlying iterative solvers: preconditioning (e.g. inner-outer iteration strategies), domain decomposition, and continuation methods. Experiments are provided to analyze the behavior of the methods depending on the structure of the rectangular matrices. Preconditioning strategies are explored for an efficient implementation on the transformed systems.

  2. Evaluation of a subject-specific, torque-driven computer simulation model of one-handed tennis backhand groundstrokes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kentel, Behzat B; King, Mark A; Mitchell, Sean R

    2011-11-01

    A torque-driven, subject-specific 3-D computer simulation model of the impact phase of one-handed tennis backhand strokes was evaluated by comparing performance and simulation results. Backhand strokes of an elite subject were recorded on an artificial tennis court. Over the 50-ms period after impact, good agreement was found with an overall RMS difference of 3.3° between matching simulation and performance in terms of joint and racket angles. Consistent with previous experimental research, the evaluation process showed that grip tightness and ball impact location are important factors that affect postimpact racket and arm kinematics. Associated with these factors, the model can be used for a better understanding of the eccentric contraction of the wrist extensors during one-handed backhand ground strokes, a hypothesized mechanism of tennis elbow.

  3. Martial arts striking hand peak acceleration, accuracy and consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neto, Osmar Pinto; Marzullo, Ana Carolina De Miranda; Bolander, Richard P; Bir, Cynthia A

    2013-01-01

    The goal of this paper was to investigate the possible trade-off between peak hand acceleration and accuracy and consistency of hand strikes performed by martial artists of different training experiences. Ten male martial artists with training experience ranging from one to nine years volunteered to participate in the experiment. Each participant performed 12 maximum effort goal-directed strikes. Hand acceleration during the strikes was obtained using a tri-axial accelerometer block. A pressure sensor matrix was used to determine the accuracy and consistency of the strikes. Accuracy was estimated by the radial distance between the centroid of each subject's 12 strikes and the target, whereas consistency was estimated by the square root of the 12 strikes mean squared distance from their centroid. We found that training experience was significantly correlated to hand peak acceleration prior to impact (r(2)=0.456, p =0.032) and accuracy (r(2)=0. 621, p=0.012). These correlations suggest that more experienced participants exhibited higher hand peak accelerations and at the same time were more accurate. Training experience, however, was not correlated to consistency (r(2)=0.085, p=0.413). Overall, our results suggest that martial arts training may lead practitioners to achieve higher striking hand accelerations with better accuracy and no change in striking consistency.

  4. In Visible Hands: The Matter and Making of Music Therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbertson, Simon

    2015-01-01

    This study explores the topics of matter and making in music therapy through embodied reflexive retrospection with six music therapists. The participants were asked to re-enact a hand position from their memory of a significant moment in therapy. In individual research meetings, they shared their thoughts about this moment while the researcher made a body cast of their chosen hand pose. A thematic analysis of the participant narratives, the hand casts, and existing literature was used to generate the following themes: The biographic hand, The body, space, place, and time, The plural hand, Matter of the hand, and The method in hand. The research procedure facilitated an exploration of epistemological, ontological, and phenomenological perspectives in understanding music therapy practitioner experiences. The study highlights the inseparability and multiplicity of matter, making, and narrating music therapy that transcends context or therapeutic approach. © the American Music Therapy Association 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Tactile sensitivity of gloved hands in the cold operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geng, Q; Kuklane, K; Holmér, I

    1997-11-01

    In this study, tactile sensitivity of gloved hand in the cold operation has been investigated. The relations among physical properties of protective gloves and hand tactile sensitivity and cold protection were also analysed both objectively and subjectively. Subjects with various gloves participated in the experimental study during cold exposure at different ambient temperatures of -12 degrees C and -25 degrees C. Tactual performance was measured using an identification task with various sizes of objects over the percentage of misjudgment. Forearm, hand and finger skin temperatures were also recorded throughout. The experimental data were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) model and the Tukey's multiple range test. The results obtained indicated that the tactual performance was affected both by gloves and by hands/fingers cooling. Effect of object size on the tactile discrimination was significant and the misjudgment increased when similar sizes of objects were identified, especially at -25 degrees C.

  6. Dynamic causal modeling of touch-evoked potentials in the rubber hand illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeller, Daniel; Friston, Karl J; Classen, Joseph

    2016-09-01

    The neural substrate of bodily ownership can be disclosed by the rubber hand illusion (RHI); namely, the illusory self-attribution of an artificial hand that is induced by synchronous tactile stimulation of the subject's hand that is hidden from view. Previous studies have pointed to the premotor cortex (PMC) as a pivotal area in such illusions. To investigate the effective connectivity between - and within - sensory and premotor areas involved in bodily perceptions, we used dynamic causal modeling of touch-evoked responses in 13 healthy subjects. Each subject's right hand was stroked while viewing their own hand ("REAL"), or an artificial hand presented in an anatomically plausible ("CONGRUENT") or implausible ("INCONGRUENT") position. Bayesian model comparison revealed strong evidence for a differential involvement of the PMC in the generation of touch-evoked responses under the three conditions, confirming a crucial role of PMC in bodily self-attribution. In brief, the extrinsic (forward) connection from left occipital cortex to left PMC was stronger for CONGRUENT and INCONGRUENT as compared to REAL, reflecting the augmentation of bottom-up visual input when multisensory integration is challenged. Crucially, intrinsic connectivity in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) was attenuated in the CONGRUENT condition, during the illusory percept. These findings support predictive coding models of the functional architecture of multisensory integration (and attenuation) in bodily perceptual experience. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Real-Time Control of an Exoskeleton Hand Robot with Myoelectric Pattern Recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Zhiyuan; Chen, Xiang; Zhang, Xu; Tong, Kay-Yu; Zhou, Ping

    2017-08-01

    Robot-assisted training provides an effective approach to neurological injury rehabilitation. To meet the challenge of hand rehabilitation after neurological injuries, this study presents an advanced myoelectric pattern recognition scheme for real-time intention-driven control of a hand exoskeleton. The developed scheme detects and recognizes user's intention of six different hand motions using four channels of surface electromyography (EMG) signals acquired from the forearm and hand muscles, and then drives the exoskeleton to assist the user accomplish the intended motion. The system was tested with eight neurologically intact subjects and two individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The overall control accuracy was [Formula: see text] for the neurologically intact subjects and [Formula: see text] for the SCI subjects. The total lag of the system was approximately 250[Formula: see text]ms including data acquisition, transmission and processing. One SCI subject also participated in training sessions in his second and third visits. Both the control accuracy and efficiency tended to improve. These results show great potential for applying the advanced myoelectric pattern recognition control of the wearable robotic hand system toward improving hand function after neurological injuries.

  8. Is the cup orientation different in bilateral total hip arthroplasty with right-handed surgeons using posterolateral approach?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Xinggui; Ni, Ming; Li, Heng; Li, Xin; Li, Xiang; Fu, Jun; Chen, Jiying

    2018-05-23

    The impact of surgeon handedness on acetabular cup orientation in total hip arthroplasty (THA) is not well studied. The aim of our study is to investigate the difference of cup orientation in bilateral THA performed by right-handed surgeons using posterolateral approach and which cup could be fitter to Lewinneck's safe zone. The study consisted of 498 patients that underwent bilateral THA by three right-handed surgeons in our hospital. Postoperative acetabular cup anteversion and abduction on an anteroposterior pelvic radiograph were measured by Orthoview software (Orthoview LLC, Jacksonville, Florida). Furthermore, the percentage of cup placement within the safe zone was compared. The mean anteversion was 25.28 (25.28° ± 7.16°) in left THA and 22.01 (22.01° ± 6.35°) in right THA (p cup was positioned in Lewinnek's safe zone in 52% for anteversion, 87% for abduction, and 46% for both anteversion and abduction. But the cup placement within Lewinnek's safe zone was 71, 88, and 62% in the right side, respectively. There were significant differences in the percentage of acetabular cup placement within the safe zone for anteversion (p cup inclination and anteversion in bilateral THA and that the placement of cup performed by dominant hands of surgeons is more accurate than that performed by non-dominant sides.

  9. Multiband Slot-Based Dual Composite Right/Left-Handed Transmission Line

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Abdo-Sanchez

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available A dual Composite Right-/Left-Handed Transmission Line (CRLH TL implementation that presents multiband behaviour is proposed in this contribution. The artificial TL is realized by loading a host microstrip line with alternate rectangular stubs and slots. The required series and shunt immittances are respectively provided by the slot and the stub. Due to the distributed nature of these immittances, the resultant phase response presents theoretically infinite RH and LH alternate bands, thus being appropriate for multiband applications. The design methodology is described with the help of a proposed TLs-based equivalent circuit and highlights the simplicity for balance condition. Full wave simulated results of the dispersion characteristics and frequency response of a unit-cell and a three-cells structure are presented.

  10. [Influence of "prehistory" of sequential movements of the right and the left hand on reproduction: coding of positions, movements and sequence structure].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bobrova, E V; Liakhovetskiĭ, V A; Borshchevskaia, E R

    2011-01-01

    The dependence of errors during reproduction of a sequence of hand movements without visual feedback on the previous right- and left-hand performance ("prehistory") and on positions in space of sequence elements (random or ordered by the explicit rule) was analyzed. It was shown that the preceding information about the ordered positions of the sequence elements was used during right-hand movements, whereas left-hand movements were performed with involvement of the information about the random sequence. The data testify to a central mechanism of the analysis of spatial structure of sequence elements. This mechanism activates movement coding specific for the left hemisphere (vector coding) in case of an ordered sequence structure and positional coding specific for the right hemisphere in case of a random sequence structure.

  11. Structure of a designed, right-handed coiled-coil tetramer containing all biological amino acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sales, Mark; Plecs, Joseph J; Holton, James M; Alber, Tom

    2007-10-01

    The previous design of an unprecedented family of two-, three-, and four-helical, right-handed coiled coils utilized nonbiological amino acids to efficiently pack spaces in the oligomer cores. Here we show that a stable, right-handed parallel tetrameric coiled coil, called RH4B, can be designed entirely using biological amino acids. The X-ray crystal structure of RH4B was determined to 1.1 Angstrom resolution using a designed metal binding site to coordinate a single Yb(2+) ion per 33-amino acid polypeptide chain. The resulting experimental phases were particularly accurate, and the experimental electron density map provided an especially clear, unbiased view of the molecule. The RH4B structure closely matched the design, with equivalent core rotamers and an overall root-mean-square deviation for the N-terminal repeat of the tetramer of 0.24 Angstrom. The clarity and resolution of the electron density map, however, revealed alternate rotamers and structural differences between the three sequence repeats in the molecule. These results suggest that the RH4B structure populates an unanticipated variety of structures.

  12. Implications of the discovery of a Higgs triplet on electroweak right-handed neutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aranda, Alfredo; Hernandez-Sanchez, J.; Hung, P.Q.

    2008-01-01

    Electroweak scale active right-handed neutrinos such as those proposed in a recent model necessitate the enlargement of the SM Higgs sector to include Higgs triplets with doubly charged scalars. The search for and constraints on such Higgs sector has implications not only on the nature of the electroweak symmetry breaking but also on the possibility of testing the seesaw mechanism at colliders such as the LHC and the ILC.

  13. Hand movements with a phase structure and gestures that depict action stem from a left hemispheric system of conceptualization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helmich, I; Lausberg, H

    2014-10-01

    The present study addresses the previously discussed controversy on the contribution of the right and left cerebral hemispheres to the production and conceptualization of spontaneous hand movements and gestures. Although it has been shown that each hemisphere contains the ability to produce hand movements, results of left hemispherically lateralized motor functions challenge the view of a contralateral hand movement production system. To examine hemispheric specialization in hand movement and gesture production, ten right-handed participants were tachistoscopically presented pictures of everyday life actions. The participants were asked to demonstrate with their hands, but without speaking what they had seen on the drawing. Two independent blind raters evaluated the videotaped hand movements and gestures employing the Neuropsychological Gesture Coding System. The results showed that the overall frequency of right- and left-hand movements is equal independent of stimulus lateralization. When hand movements were analyzed considering their Structure, the presentation of the action stimuli to the left hemisphere resulted in more hand movements with a phase structure than the presentation to the right hemisphere. Furthermore, the presentation to the left hemisphere resulted in more right and left-hand movements with a phase structure, whereas the presentation to the right hemisphere only increased contralateral left-hand movements with a phase structure as compared to hand movements without a phase structure. Gestures that depict action were primarily displayed in response to stimuli presented in the right visual field than in the left one. The present study shows that both hemispheres possess the faculty to produce hand movements in response to action stimuli. However, the left hemisphere dominates the production of hand movements with a phase structure and gestures that depict action. We therefore conclude that hand movements with a phase structure and gestures that

  14. The Legal Position and Factual Situation of Women Participation to Inheritance in Kosovo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LL.M. Egzonis Hajdari

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The right to inheritance represents one of the basic human rights. As such this right is regulated by the law. The Law on Inheritance in Kosovo regulates substantially, all the issues related to inheritance. In this context, this Law contains numerous rules that proclaim full equality of women with men to inheritance. Regardless of equality proclaimed by law practical reality of life indicates a different situation. This reality proves that women participation to inheritance nevertheless is very small. The reasons for this situation are numerous and diverse, but mostly they have to deal with the still existence in people's conscience of many customary rules, which constantly treated women as a subject of second hand. In this article a modest attempt is made to reflect besides legal aspect also the practical situation indicating the degree of women participation to inheritance in Kosovo, in all grades that she may appear as heir.

  15. Construct validity for eye-hand coordination skill on a virtual reality laparoscopic surgical simulator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Shohei; Konishi, Kozo; Yasunaga, Takefumi; Yoshida, Daisuke; Kinjo, Nao; Kobayashi, Kiichiro; Ieiri, Satoshi; Okazaki, Ken; Nakashima, Hideaki; Tanoue, Kazuo; Maehara, Yoshihiko; Hashizume, Makoto

    2007-12-01

    This study was carried out to investigate whether eye-hand coordination skill on a virtual reality laparoscopic surgical simulator (the LAP Mentor) was able to differentiate among subjects with different laparoscopic experience and thus confirm its construct validity. A total of 31 surgeons, who were all right-handed, were divided into the following two groups according to their experience as an operator in laparoscopic surgery: experienced surgeons (more than 50 laparoscopic procedures) and novice surgeons (fewer than 10 laparoscopic procedures). The subjects were tested using the eye-hand coordination task of the LAP Mentor, and performance was compared between the two groups. Assessment of the laparoscopic skills was based on parameters measured by the simulator. The experienced surgeons completed the task significantly faster than the novice surgeons. The experienced surgeons also achieved a lower number of movements (NOM), better economy of movement (EOM) and faster average speed of the left instrument than the novice surgeons, whereas there were no significant differences between the two groups for the NOM, EOM and average speed of the right instrument. Eye-hand coordination skill of the nondominant hand, but not the dominant hand, measured using the LAP Mentor was able to differentiate between subjects with different laparoscopic experience. This study also provides evidence of construct validity for eye-hand coordination skill on the LAP Mentor.

  16. Decentralisation, Participation and Boundaries of Transformation: Forest Rights Act, Wayanad, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sudheesh R. Chemmencheri

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Participation and decentralisation have been shown to yield democratic outcomes in terms of efficiency, accountability and transparency through citizen engagement and devolution of powers. It has been a matter of debate whether they also benefit marginalised communities like the indigenous peoples. This paper analyzes the implications of decentralised governance in a tribal zone in India using the case of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights Act 2006 − the Forest Rights Act. The effects of the Act are studied in the district of Wayanad, Kerala, through the theoretical framework of transformative decentralisation and spatial politics of participation. The key objectives of the Act − securing tenure and access to Minor Forest Produce − have achieved limited success in Wayanad as a result of a narrowly construed ideas of people’s participation. While the process prescribed by the Forest Rights Act has the potential to create new spaces for participation, most of these spaces remain closed in Wayanad. The absence of a larger vision and a radical motive to engage with the underlying patterns of domination and subordination in society has confined the process of decentralisation to its technocratic essentials, raising questions on the extent to which the Act can pave the way for transformation.

  17. CIRDAP -- the British Council Regional Workshop. Towards Gender Equity: Poverty, Rights, and Participation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-03-01

    This article describes a February 1998, regional workshop entitled "Towards Gender Equity: Poverty, Rights, and Participation," which was organized by the Center on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) and the British Council. Participants included about 60 high-level representatives of governments, nongovernmental organizations, academicians, and activists from CIRDAP, the UK, and Bangladesh. The aim was to identify ways to monitor the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action (BPOA)in CIRDAP member countries and advocate continual compliance with the BPOA. The agenda included five issue-based working sessions, plenaries, group discussions, adoption of group resolutions, and closure. Participants visited urban schools run by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee and the Gono Shahajjo Sangstha that provided education for low income, disadvantaged children. Press conferences were held pre-post workshop. Each participant at the workshop end identified at least one issue or recommendation that they would follow-up on after the workshop. Subthemes were access to income for women (access to and control of resources, microcredit, and small enterprises); rights (land rights, inheritance of property, and legal rights); political participation (good governance, community participation); economic reforms and sustainable development (structural adjustment, liberalization, and globalization), and BPOA. Under each subtheme are lists of issues or problems and recommendations.

  18. Development and pilot testing of HEXORR: Hand EXOskeleton Rehabilitation Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Godfrey Sasha B

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Following acute therapeutic interventions, the majority of stroke survivors are left with a poorly functioning hemiparetic hand. Rehabilitation robotics has shown promise in providing patients with intensive therapy leading to functional gains. Because of the hand's crucial role in performing activities of daily living, attention to hand therapy has recently increased. Methods This paper introduces a newly developed Hand Exoskeleton Rehabilitation Robot (HEXORR. This device has been designed to provide full range of motion (ROM for all of the hand's digits. The thumb actuator allows for variable thumb plane of motion to incorporate different degrees of extension/flexion and abduction/adduction. Compensation algorithms have been developed to improve the exoskeleton's backdrivability by counteracting gravity, stiction and kinetic friction. We have also designed a force assistance mode that provides extension assistance based on each individual's needs. A pilot study was conducted on 9 unimpaired and 5 chronic stroke subjects to investigate the device's ability to allow physiologically accurate hand movements throughout the full ROM. The study also tested the efficacy of the force assistance mode with the goal of increasing stroke subjects' active ROM while still requiring active extension torque on the part of the subject. Results For 12 of the hand digits'15 joints in neurologically normal subjects, there were no significant ROM differences (P > 0.05 between active movements performed inside and outside of HEXORR. Interjoint coordination was examined in the 1st and 3rd digits, and no differences were found between inside and outside of the device (P > 0.05. Stroke subjects were capable of performing free hand movements inside of the exoskeleton and the force assistance mode was successful in increasing active ROM by 43 ± 5% (P Conclusions Our pilot study shows that this device is capable of moving the hand's digits through

  19. Development and pilot testing of HEXORR: Hand EXOskeleton Rehabilitation Robot

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    is capable of moving the hand's digits through nearly the entire ROM with physiologically accurate trajectories. Stroke subjects received the device intervention well and device impedance was minimized so that subjects could freely extend and flex their digits inside of HEXORR. Our active force-assisted condition was successful in increasing the subjects' ROM while promoting active participation. PMID:20667083

  20. Effectiveness of hand hygiene depends on the patient's health condition and care environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okada, Junko; Yamamizu, Yukiko; Fukai, Kiyoko

    2016-10-01

    The present authors examined how patient hand contamination was associated with underlying disease and treatment environment in order to determine effective hand hygiene methods. Samples were collected from inpatients (45 with hematological malignancies, 48 postoperative), outpatients (48 undergoing hemodialysis, 55 on chemotherapy), and 44 individuals living in nursing homes. All participants provided informed consent for study participation. All subjects performed hand hygiene. Before and after hand hygiene, samples of bacteria were collected from the palm of the hand onto agar media. Bacteria were counted and bacterial strains were identified. The authors then collected smear samples from the contralateral palm and measured adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels. Patient hand contamination was the highest in hemodialysis patients, followed by residents of nursing homes, postoperative patients, patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy, and patients of hematological malignancies. Regardless of the underlying disease and treatment environment, patients were able to reduce the number of bacterial colonies and ATP by proper hand hygiene. Compared with wet wipes, hand washing seemed to remove bacteria more effectively. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was detected in 30 subjects, none of whom were patients of hematological malignancies. Of these, 19 tested negative for MRSA after performing proper hand hygiene. Patient hand contamination is affected by underlying disease and care environment, but can be reduced by encouraging proper hand washing. Proper patient hand hygiene can reduce MRSA on patients' hands, and thus may serve as an effective tool for prevention of healthcare-associated infections. © 2016 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

  1. Extending the eigCG algorithm to nonsymmetric Lanczos for linear systems with multiple right-hand sides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdel-Rehim, A M; Stathopoulos, Andreas; Orginos, Kostas

    2014-08-01

    The technique that was used to build the EigCG algorithm for sparse symmetric linear systems is extended to the nonsymmetric case using the BiCG algorithm. We show that, similarly to the symmetric case, we can build an algorithm that is capable of computing a few smallest magnitude eigenvalues and their corresponding left and right eigenvectors of a nonsymmetric matrix using only a small window of the BiCG residuals while simultaneously solving a linear system with that matrix. For a system with multiple right-hand sides, we give an algorithm that computes incrementally more eigenvalues while solving the first few systems and then uses the computed eigenvectors to deflate BiCGStab for the remaining systems. Our experiments on various test problems, including Lattice QCD, show the remarkable ability of EigBiCG to compute spectral approximations with accuracy comparable to that of the unrestarted, nonsymmetric Lanczos. Furthermore, our incremental EigBiCG followed by appropriately restarted and deflated BiCGStab provides a competitive method for systems with multiple right-hand sides.

  2. Functional Language Shift to the Right Hemisphere in Patients with Language-Eloquent Brain Tumors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krieg, Sandro M.; Sollmann, Nico; Hauck, Theresa; Ille, Sebastian; Foerschler, Annette; Meyer, Bernhard; Ringel, Florian

    2013-01-01

    Objectives Language function is mainly located within the left hemisphere of the brain, especially in right-handed subjects. However, functional MRI (fMRI) has demonstrated changes of language organization in patients with left-sided perisylvian lesions to the right hemisphere. Because intracerebral lesions can impair fMRI, this study was designed to investigate human language plasticity with a virtual lesion model using repetitive navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Experimental design Fifteen patients with lesions of left-sided language-eloquent brain areas and 50 healthy and purely right-handed participants underwent bilateral rTMS language mapping via an object-naming task. All patients were proven to have left-sided language function during awake surgery. The rTMS-induced language errors were categorized into 6 different error types. The error ratio (induced errors/number of stimulations) was determined for each brain region on both hemispheres. A hemispheric dominance ratio was then defined for each region as the quotient of the error ratio (left/right) of the corresponding area of both hemispheres (ratio >1  =  left dominant; ratio dominant). Results Patients with language-eloquent lesions showed a statistically significantly lower ratio than healthy participants concerning “all errors” and “all errors without hesitations”, which indicates a higher participation of the right hemisphere in language function. Yet, there was no cortical region with pronounced difference in language dominance compared to the whole hemisphere. Conclusions This is the first study that shows by means of an anatomically accurate virtual lesion model that a shift of language function to the non-dominant hemisphere can occur. PMID:24069410

  3. The Influence of Parkinson’s Disease Motor Symptom Asymmetry on Hand Performance: An Examination of the Grooved Pegboard Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara M. Scharoun

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the influence of motor symptom asymmetry in Parkinson’s disease (PD on Grooved Pegboard (GP performance in right-handed participants. The Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale was used to assess motor symptoms and separate participants with PD into two groups (right-arm affected, left-arm affected for comparison with a group of healthy older adults. Participants completed the place and replace GP tasks two times with both hands. Laterality quotients were computed to quantify performance differences between the two hands. Comparisons among the three groups indicated that when the nonpreferred hand is affected by PD motor symptoms, superior preferred hand performance (as seen in healthy older adults is further exaggerated in tasks that require precision (i.e., place task. Regardless of the task, when the preferred hand is affected, there is an evident shift to superior left-hand performance, which may inevitably manifest as a switch in hand preference. Results add to the discussion of the relationship between handedness and motor symptom asymmetry in PD.

  4. Nurbayev D.M. Public and dispositive segments of abuse of the subjective right: interdisciplinary look.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Azarov

    2017-01-01

    restricting specific rights, which is abused by party of procedure.The authors allow only one kind of liability for abuse of rights: a temporary restriction of the subjective rights of participants in criminal procedure on a very short term. It can be used only for systematic abuse of this right. Only court should have an authority for such restriction, taking into account prior notification of the supervising Procurator.

  5. Short Term Motor-Skill Acquisition Improves with Size of Self-Controlled Virtual Hands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ossmy, Ori; Mukamel, Roy

    2017-01-01

    Visual feedback in general, and from the body in particular, is known to influence the performance of motor skills in humans. However, it is unclear how the acquisition of motor skills depends on specific visual feedback parameters such as the size of performing effector. Here, 21 healthy subjects physically trained to perform sequences of finger movements with their right hand. Through the use of 3D Virtual Reality devices, visual feedback during training consisted of virtual hands presented on the screen, tracking subject's hand movements in real time. Importantly, the setup allowed us to manipulate the size of the displayed virtual hands across experimental conditions. We found that performance gains increase with the size of virtual hands. In contrast, when subjects trained by mere observation (i.e., in the absence of physical movement), manipulating the size of the virtual hand did not significantly affect subsequent performance gains. These results demonstrate that when it comes to short-term motor skill learning, the size of visual feedback matters. Furthermore, these results suggest that highest performance gains in individual subjects are achieved when the size of the virtual hand matches their real hand size. These results may have implications for optimizing motor training schemes.

  6. Short Term Motor-Skill Acquisition Improves with Size of Self-Controlled Virtual Hands.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ori Ossmy

    Full Text Available Visual feedback in general, and from the body in particular, is known to influence the performance of motor skills in humans. However, it is unclear how the acquisition of motor skills depends on specific visual feedback parameters such as the size of performing effector. Here, 21 healthy subjects physically trained to perform sequences of finger movements with their right hand. Through the use of 3D Virtual Reality devices, visual feedback during training consisted of virtual hands presented on the screen, tracking subject's hand movements in real time. Importantly, the setup allowed us to manipulate the size of the displayed virtual hands across experimental conditions. We found that performance gains increase with the size of virtual hands. In contrast, when subjects trained by mere observation (i.e., in the absence of physical movement, manipulating the size of the virtual hand did not significantly affect subsequent performance gains. These results demonstrate that when it comes to short-term motor skill learning, the size of visual feedback matters. Furthermore, these results suggest that highest performance gains in individual subjects are achieved when the size of the virtual hand matches their real hand size. These results may have implications for optimizing motor training schemes.

  7. Spontaneous Formation of left- and right-handed cholesterically ordered domains in an enantioppure chiral polyfluorene film

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Savoini, M.; Biagioni, P.; Meskers, S.C.J.; Duò, L.; Hecht, B.; Finazzi, M.

    2011-01-01

    Thermally annealed chiral polyfluorene films are studied by circular differential optical microscopy. We observe the presence of micrometer-sized domains displaying circular dichroism of opposite sign. Our findings suggest the spontaneous occurrence of left- and right-handed cholesterically ordered

  8. Left and right brain-oriented hemisity subjects show opposite behavioral preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Bruce E

    2012-01-01

    Recently, three independent, intercorrelated biophysical measures have provided the first quantitative measures of a binary form of behavioral laterality called "Hemisity," a term referring to inherent opposite right or left brain-oriented differences in thinking and behavioral styles. Crucially, the right or left brain-orientation of individuals assessed by these methods was later found to be essentially congruent with the thicker side of their ventral gyrus of the anterior cingulate cortex (vgACC) as revealed by a 3 min MRI procedure. Laterality of this putative executive structural element has thus become the primary standard defining individual hemisity. Here, the behavior of 150 subjects, whose hemisity had been calibrated by MRI, was assessed using five MRI-calibrated preference questionnaires, two of which were new. Right and left brain-oriented subjects selected opposite answers (p > 0.05) for 47 of the 107 "either-or," forced choice type preference questionnaire items. The resulting 30 hemisity subtype preference differences were present in several areas. These were: (1) in logical orientation, (2) in type of consciousness, (3) in fear level and sensitivity, (4) in social-professional orientation, and (5) in pair bonding-spousal dominance style. The right and left brain-oriented hemisity subtype subjects, sorted on the anatomical basis of upon which brain side their vgACC was thickest, showed 30 significant differences in their "either-or" type of behavioral preferences.

  9. Left and right brain-oriented hemisity subjects show opposite behavioral preferences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruce Eldine Morton

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Recently, three independent, intercorrelated biophysical measures have provided the first quantitative measures of a binary form of behavioral laterality called Hemisity, a term referring to inherent opposite right or left brain-oriented differences in thinking and behavioral styles. Crucially, the right or left brain-orientation of individuals assessed by these methods was later found to be essentially congruent with the thicker side of their ventral gyrus of the anterior cingulate cortex (vgACC as revealed by a 3 minute MRI procedure. Laterality of this putative executive structural element has thus become the primary standard defining individual hemisity. Methods: Here, the behavior of 150 subjects, whose hemisity had been calibrated by MRI, was assessed using five MRI-calibrated preference questionnaires, two of which were new.Results: Right and left brain-oriented subjects selected opposite answers (p > 0.05 for 47 of the 107 either-or, forced choice type preference questionnaire items. Hemisity subtype preference differences were present in several areas. They were in: a. logical orientation, b. type of consciousness, c. fear level and sensitivity, d. social-professional orientation, and e. pair bonding-spousal dominance style.Conclusions: The right and left brain-oriented hemisity subtype subjects, sorted on the anatomical basis of upon which brain side their vgACC was thickest, showed numerous significant differences in their either-or type of behavioral preferences.

  10. The seesaw mechanism at TeV scale in the 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cogollo, D.; Diniz, H.; Pires, C.A. de S.; Silva, P.S.R. da

    2008-01-01

    We implement the seesaw mechanism in the 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos. This will be accomplished by the introduction of a scalar sextet into the model and the spontaneous violation of lepton number. The main result of this work is that the seesaw mechanism can work already at the TeV scale with the consequence that the right-handed neutrino masses lie in the electroweak scale, in the range from MeV to tens of GeV. This window provides a great opportunity to test their appearance at current detectors, though when we contrast our results with some previous analyses concerning the detection sensitivity at LHC, we conclude that further work is needed in order to validate this search. (orig.)

  11. Writing and drawing with both hands as indicators of hemispheric dominance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labak, Irena; Snajder, Darija; Srzentić, Mirna Kostović; Bensić, Mirta; Nist, Marina; Ilakovac, Vesna; Heffer, Marija

    2011-01-01

    Brain lateralization is a common term used to describe dominance of one brain hemisphere over another for a specific function. The right hand dominance in writing, controlled by the left hemisphere, is preceded by development of communicative gesticulation and followed by development of speech in the same hemisphere. We assumed that some people are not aware of their own capability of using the other hand for tasks involving fine motor sequential movements. To prove this hypothesis, the participants were asked to perform one trained task (writing) and one less-trained task (drawing) with a dominant and a non-dominant hand. The final sample was comprised of 1189 children from 14 elementary schools and 8 high schools in the Osijek area, of which 685 elementary school children were attending 1st to 4th grade and 504 high school children were attending 3rd and 4th grade. The participants were asked to write two words, draw a specific object (a vase with flowers) and fill out a questionnaire with 10 questions concerning the classification of handedness and cerebral hemisphere dominance. The self-reported cerebral lateralization assessed in the questionnaire was compared with the drawing and the writing performance. The self-reported and objectively measured hand dominance deviated in the cases of the ambidextrous who consider themselves right-handers. Given the fact that the number of ambidextrous persons was greater in elementary schools than in high schools, we concluded how training of the right hand decreases the ability of using both hands equally for either of the tested functions - writing and drawing.

  12. Web Page Layout: A Comparison Between Left- and Right-justified Site Navigation Menus

    OpenAIRE

    Kalbach, James; Bosenick, Tim

    2006-01-01

    The usability of two Web page layouts was directly compared: one with the main site navigation menu on the left of the page, and one with the main site navigation menu on the right. Sixty-four participants were divided equally into two groups and assigned to either the left- or the right-hand navigation test condition. Using a stopwatch, the time to complete each of five tasks was measured. The hypothesis that the left-hand navigation would perform significantly faster than the right-hand nav...

  13. Deflation for inversion with multiple right-hand sides in QCD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stathopoulos, A; Abdel-Rehim, A M; Orginos, K

    2009-01-01

    Most calculations in lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) involve the solution of a series of linear systems of equations with exceedingly large matrices and a large number of right hand sides. Iterative methods for these problems can be sped up significantly if we deflate approximations of appropriate invariant spaces from the initial guesses. Recently we have developed eigCG, a modification of the Conjugate Gradient (CG) method, which while solving a linear system can reuse a window of the CG vectors to compute eigenvectors almost as accurately as the Lanczos method. The number of approximate eigenvectors can increase as more systems are solved. In this paper we review some of the characteristics of eigCG and show how it helps remove the critical slowdown in QCD calculations. Moreover, we study scaling with lattice volume and an extension of the technique to nonsymmetric problems.

  14. Hand Matters: Left-Hand Gestures Enhance Metaphor Explanation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argyriou, Paraskevi; Mohr, Christine; Kita, Sotaro

    2017-01-01

    Research suggests that speech-accompanying gestures influence cognitive processes, but it is not clear whether the gestural benefit is specific to the gesturing hand. Two experiments tested the "(right/left) hand-specificity" hypothesis for self-oriented functions of gestures: gestures with a particular hand enhance cognitive processes…

  15. Pointing Hand Stimuli Induce Spatial Compatibility Effects and Effector Priming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akio eNishimura

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigated the automatic influence of perceiving a picture that indicates other’s action on one’s own task performance in terms of spatial compatibility and effector priming. Participants pressed left and right buttons with their left and right hands respectively, depending on the color of a central dot target. Preceding the target, a left or right hand stimulus (pointing either to the left or right with the index or little finger was presented. In Experiment 1, with brief presentation of the pointing hand, a spatial compatibility effect was observed: Responses were faster when the direction of the pointed finger and the response position were spatially congruent than when incongruent. The spatial compatibility effect was larger for the pointing index finger stimulus compared to the pointing little finger stimulus. Experiment 2 employed longer duration of the pointing hand stimuli. In addition to the spatial compatibility effect for the pointing index finger, the effector priming effect was observed: Responses were faster when the anatomical left/right identity of the pointing and response hands matched than when the pointing and response hands differed in left/right identity. The results indicate that with sufficient processing time, both spatial/symbolic and anatomical features of a static body part implying another’s action simultaneously influence different aspects of the perceiver’s own action. Hierarchical coding, according to which an anatomical code is used only when a spatial code is unavailable, may not be applicable if stimuli as well as responses contain anatomical features.

  16. Are movements necessary for the sense of body ownership? Evidence from the rubber hand illusion in pure hemiplegic patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burin, Dalila; Livelli, Alessandro; Garbarini, Francesca; Fossataro, Carlotta; Folegatti, Alessia; Gindri, Patrizia; Pia, Lorenzo

    2015-01-01

    A question still debated within cognitive neuroscience is whether signals present during actions significantly contribute to the emergence of human's body ownership. In the present study, we aimed at answer this question by means of a neuropsychological approach. We administered the classical rubber hand illusion paradigm to a group of healthy participants and to a group of neurological patients affected by a complete left upper limb hemiplegia, but without any propriceptive/tactile deficits. The illusion strength was measured both subjectively (i.e., by a self-report questionnaire) and behaviorally (i.e., the location of one's own hand is shifted towards the rubber hand). We aimed at examining whether, and to which extent, an enduring absence of movements related signals affects body ownership. Our results showed that patients displayed, respect to healthy participants, stronger illusory effects when the left (affected) hand was stimulated and no effects when the right (unaffected) hand was stimulated. In other words, hemiplegics had a weaker/more flexible sense of body ownership for the affected hand, but an enhanced/more rigid one for the healthy hand. Possible interpretations of such asymmetrical distribution of body ownership, as well as limits of our results, are discussed. Broadly speaking, our findings suggest that the alteration of the normal flow of signals present during movements impacts on human's body ownership. This in turn, means that movements have a role per se in developing and maintaining a coherent body ownership.

  17. Are movements necessary for the sense of body ownership? Evidence from the rubber hand illusion in pure hemiplegic patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dalila Burin

    Full Text Available A question still debated within cognitive neuroscience is whether signals present during actions significantly contribute to the emergence of human's body ownership. In the present study, we aimed at answer this question by means of a neuropsychological approach. We administered the classical rubber hand illusion paradigm to a group of healthy participants and to a group of neurological patients affected by a complete left upper limb hemiplegia, but without any propriceptive/tactile deficits. The illusion strength was measured both subjectively (i.e., by a self-report questionnaire and behaviorally (i.e., the location of one's own hand is shifted towards the rubber hand. We aimed at examining whether, and to which extent, an enduring absence of movements related signals affects body ownership. Our results showed that patients displayed, respect to healthy participants, stronger illusory effects when the left (affected hand was stimulated and no effects when the right (unaffected hand was stimulated. In other words, hemiplegics had a weaker/more flexible sense of body ownership for the affected hand, but an enhanced/more rigid one for the healthy hand. Possible interpretations of such asymmetrical distribution of body ownership, as well as limits of our results, are discussed. Broadly speaking, our findings suggest that the alteration of the normal flow of signals present during movements impacts on human's body ownership. This in turn, means that movements have a role per se in developing and maintaining a coherent body ownership.

  18. Dupuytren’s disease digital radius IV right hand and carpal tunnel syndrome on ipsilateral hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teona Sebe Ioana

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Dupuytren’s contracture is a fibroproliferative disease whose etiology and pathophysiology are unclear and controversial. It is a connective tissue disorder, which takes part in the palmar’s fibromatosis category and has common characteristics with the healing process. Dupuytren’s disease is characterized by the flexion contracture of the hand due to palmar and digital aponevrosis. It generally affects the 4th digital radius, followed by the 5th one. Without surgery, it leads to functional impotence of those digital rays and/or hand. It is associated with other diseases and situational conditions like Peyronie’s disease, the Lederhose disease (plantar fibromatosis, Garrod’s digital knuckle-pads, diabetes, epilepsy, alcoholism, micro traumatisms, stenosing tenosynovitis and not the least with carpal tunnel syndrome. The carpal tunnel syndrome is a peripheral neuropathy with the incarceration of the median nerve at the ARC level, expressed clinically by sensory and motor disturbances in the distribution territory of the median nerve, which cause functional limitations of daily activities of the patient. After the failure of the nonsurgical treatment or the appearance of the motor deficit, is established the open or endoscopic surgical treatment with the release of the median nerve. Postoperative recovery in both diseases is crucial to the functionality of the affected upper limb and to the quality of the patient’s life. The patient, a 61 years old man, admitted to the clinic for the functional impotence of the right hand, for the permanent flexion contracture of the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP and proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP of the 4th finger with extension deficit, for the damage of the thumb pulp clamp of the 4th finger, for nocturnal paresthesia of fingers I-III and pain that radiates into the fingertips. After clinical, paraclinical, imagistic and electrical investigations, surgery is practiced partial aponevrectomy

  19. Compliance with hand hygiene: reference data from the national hand hygiene campaign in Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wetzker, W; Bunte-Schönberger, K; Walter, J; Pilarski, G; Gastmeier, P; Reichardt, Ch

    2016-04-01

    Hand hygiene is a key measure to prevent healthcare-associated infection. To promote hand hygiene nationally the German campaign 'Aktion Saubere Hände' was launched in January 2008, based on the World Health Organization's 'Clean Care is Safer Care' initiative. We report the first results from a full year of data collection on hand hygiene compliance recorded with the help of a renewed observation tool. Data were based on submissions from 109 participating hospitals collected from 576 wards between January 1st and December 31st, 2014. The overall median compliance was 73%, ranging from 55% (10th percentile) to 89% (90th percentile). The results demonstrated only small differences between adult and non-adult intensive care units (ICUs) with neonatal ICUs and paediatric non-ICUs maintaining higher compliance than adult care units. Performance among nurses was better than physicians, and overall rates of hand hygiene performance were significantly higher after patient contact than before. Copyright © 2016 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Commentary: Left Hand, Right Hand and on the Other Hand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parslow, Graham R.

    2011-01-01

    It was deeply ingrained in the author from his undergraduate studies of psychology and courses in learning theory that people have a rational left brain and a creative right brain. Learning theory suggested that activities needed to be tailored to develop both hemispheres. Handedness in relation to abilities has been commented on from the 1800s by…

  1. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on May ... 34 How The Clean Hands - Safe Hands System Works - Duration: 3:38. Clean Hands-Safe Hands 5, ...

  2. Isometric arm strength and subjective rating of upper limb fatigue in two-handed carrying tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Kai Way; Chiu, Wen-Sheng

    2015-01-01

    Sustained carrying could result in muscular fatigue of the upper limb. Ten male and ten female subjects were recruited for measurements of isometric arm strength before and during carrying a load for a period of 4 minutes. Two levels of load of carrying were tested for each of the male and female subjects. Exponential function based predictive equations for the isometric arm strength were established. The mean absolute deviations of these models in predicting the isometric arm strength were in the range of 3.24 to 17.34 N. Regression analyses between the subjective ratings of upper limb fatigue and force change index (FCI) for the carrying were also performed. The results indicated that the subjective rating of muscular fatigue may be estimated by multiplying the FCI with a constant. The FCI may, therefore, be adopted as an index to assess muscular fatigue for two-handed carrying tasks.

  3. Cortical Reorganization after Hand Immobilization: The beta qEEG Spectral Coherence Evidences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortuna, Marina; Teixeira, Silmar; Machado, Sérgio; Velasques, Bruna; Bittencourt, Juliana; Peressutti, Caroline; Budde, Henning; Cagy, Mauricio; Nardi, Antonio E.; Piedade, Roberto; Ribeiro, Pedro; Arias-Carrión, Oscar

    2013-01-01

    There is increasing evidence that hand immobilization is associated with various changes in the brain. Indeed, beta band coherence is strongly related to motor act and sensitive stimuli. In this study we investigate the electrophysiological and cortical changes that occur when subjects are submitted to hand immobilization. We hypothesized that beta coherence oscillations act as a mechanism underlying inter- and intra-hemispheric changes. As a methodology for our study fifteen healthy individuals between the ages of 20 and 30 years were subjected to a right index finger task before and after hand immobilization while their brain activity pattern was recorded using quantitative electroencephalography. This analysis revealed that hand immobilization caused changes in frontal, central and parietal areas of the brain. The main findings showed a lower beta-2 band in frontal regions and greater cortical activity in central and parietal areas. In summary, the coherence increased in the frontal, central and parietal cortex, due to hand immobilization and it adjusted the brains functioning, which had been disrupted by the procedure. Moreover, the brain adaptation upon hand immobilization of the subjects involved inter- and intra-hemispheric changes. PMID:24278213

  4. Two cases of sporotrichosis of the right upper extremity in right-handed patients with diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yu; Hagen, Ferry; Wan, Zhe; Liu, Yufu; Liu, Yahong; Wang, Qingwen; de Hoog, Gert Sybren; Li, Ruoyu; Zhang, Junling

    2016-01-01

    Sporothrix species have proved to show high degrees of endemicity. Sporothrix globosa is the only pathogenic Sporothrix species that has till date been reported from China, where it is endemic in the northeastern provinces. We report two cases of lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis with diabetes mellitus as underlying disease in patients from the non-endemic area of China. A 59-year-old farmer and a 60-year-old gardener were admitted in February and June 2014, respectively. Both patients were right-handed men and presented with progressive plaques and nodules, which they had for several years, involving the right upper extremity. Skin biopsy from the granuloma was taken and cultured on Sabouraud medium, and molecular identification based on the calmodulin region was performed. Antifungal susceptibility testing was also performed with the microdilution method. Biopsy of the lesions showed the presence of infectious granuloma. The fungal cultures were identified as Sporothrix globosa by conventional methods, and confirmed by molecular identification. A subsequent course of oral antifungal therapy with low dosage of itraconazole was well tolerated and resolved the infection. Identification of fungal species and antifungal susceptibility testing are mandatory for epidemiological and therapeutic reasons. Early diagnosis of sporotrichosis is essential to prevent those sequelae when the disease progresses and provides highly effective methods for treating this emerging disease. Avoiding the exposure to plant material potentially contaminated with fungal spores should be recommended, especially in immunocompromised patients. Copyright © 2015 Revista Iberoamericana de Micología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  5. On the Other Hand : Nondominant Hand Use Increases Sense of Agency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Damen, Tom G. E.; Dijksterhuis, Ap; van Baaren, Rick B.

    In two studies, we investigated the influence of hand dominance on the sense of self-causation or agency. Participants alternately used their dominant or nondominant hand to cause the occurrence of an effect (a tone) in a task in which agency was made ambiguous. Participants were subsequently asked

  6. Recognition of emotion in hemifaces presented to the left and right visual fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wedding, D; Cyrus, P

    1986-09-01

    Thirty-two right-handed subjects (16 males and 16 females) participated in a choice reaction time experiment replicating two previous studies which demonstrated the superiority of the left hemisphere in rapidly identifying facial emotion as either positive or negative. Slides of hemifaces split along the vertical axis, showing either positive (happiness, surprise) or negative (anger, disgust, or sadness) affect were presented tachistoscopically to either the left or right visual field. A 2 X 2 X 2 mixed ANOVA revealed main effects for visual field and type of affect. In contrast to earlier studies which presented full face stimuli, presentation of hemifaces produced a strong left visual field advantage and, as expected, positive faces produced faster reaction times than negative faces.

  7. Hand 'stress' arthritis in young subjects: effects of Flexiqule (pharma-standard Boswellia extract). A preliminary case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belcaro, G; Feragalli, B; Cornelli, U; Dugall, M

    2015-10-22

    This case report (supplement registry study) evaluated subjects with painful 'stress' arthritis of the hand mainly localized at the joints. The patients received a suggestion to follow a rehabilitation plan (standard management; SM). A second group also used the same SM in association with the oral, pharma-standard supplement FlexiQule (Alchem) a new standardized, phytosomal preparation manufactured from the Boswellia plant, which can be used for self-management in inflammatory conditions (150 mg / 3 times daily). The two resulting registry groups included 12 subjects using SM+Flexiqule and and 11 controls (SM only). The groups were comparable. Serology showed no significant alterations: only ESR was slightly elevated (minimal elevation). After 2 weeks, the ESR was normal in the supplement group and mildly elevated in controls (p<0.05%). The decrease in hypertermic areas was greater/faster (p<0.05) in the supplement group. The identification of a working stress and the localization to the dominant hand was comparable in both groups. At 2 weeks, the decrease in pain was significantly faster and more important with the supplement (p<0.05). The hand became more usable in time and the score was better with the supplement (p<0.05). No supplemented patient had to use other drugs, while in the control group 3 subjects eventually used NSAIDs to control pain and stiffness and one used corticosteroids. In conclusion, the natural extract Flexiqule was effective in controlling work-related stress arthritis (without inflammaìtory signs) over a 2 weeks period, better than only Standard Management. More prolonged and larger studies are needed.

  8. Whole-head analysis of cortical spatial organization from unilateral stimulation of median nerve in both hands: No complete hemisphere homology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theuvenet, Peter J.; van Dijk, Bob W.; Peters, M.J.; van Ree, Jan M.; Lopes da Silva, Fernando L.; Chen, Andrew C.N.

    2005-01-01

    We examined the contralateral hemispheric cortical activity in MEG (151 ch) after unilateral median nerve stimulation of the right and left hand in twenty healthy right-handed subjects. The goal was to establish parameters to describe cortical activity of the hemispheric responses and to study the

  9. Perceptions of Prospective Pre-School Teachers Regarding Children's Right to Participate in Classroom Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koran, Nihan; Avci, Neslihan

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates the behaviours of pre-school teachers working with children aged between 4 and 6 years with regard to their right to participate in classroom activities. In this context, pre-school teacher's negative or positive applications regarding children's participation rights were revealed. Furthermore, preschool teachers'…

  10. What Do Subject Matter Experts Have to Say about Participating in Education and Outreach?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manning, Colleen; NASA's Universe of Learning Team

    2018-01-01

    NASA’s Universe of Learning partners wish to actively engage with Subject Matter Experts (scientists and engineers) throughout the design, development, and delivery of products, programs, and professional development. In order to ensure these engagement efforts aligned with the needs of Subject Matter Experts, the external evaluators conducted an online survey. The subject pool included the scientists and engineers employed at the partner organizations as well as other scientists and engineers affiliated with NASA’s Astrophysics missions and research programs. This presentation will describe scientists’/engineers’ interest in various types of education/outreach, their availability to participate in education/outreach, factors that would encourage their participation in education/outreach, and the preparation and support they have for participation in education/outreach.

  11. Effect of gender and hand laterality on pain processing in human neonates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozawa, Mio; Kanda, Katsuya; Hirata, Michio; Kusakawa, Isao; Suzuki, Chieko

    2011-01-01

    Previous studies in adults have reported that handedness and gender can affect pain perception. However, it is currently unclear when these differences emerge in human development. Therefore, we examined prefrontal responses to pain stimulation among newborns during their first acute pain experience after birth. Forty newborns at 4-6 days postnatal age were observed during clinically required blood sampling while prefrontal activation was measured with near infrared spectroscopy. Blood sampling in this study was the first experience of a procedure involving skin breaking for these infants. We divided subjects into a right-hand stimulation group (n=21) and a left-hand stimulation group (n=19), depending on whether blood was sampled from the right or the left hand. A three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine the effects of several variables on the magnitude of the oxy-Hb value in response to pain stimulus, including stimulus side (right hand or left hand), gender (male or female), recording side (right prefrontal area or left prefrontal area) and interactions between these variables. The data revealed a significant effect of stimulus side (F (1, 72)=9.892, P=0.002), showing that the right-hand stimulation induced a greater prefrontal activation than the left-hand stimulation. No significant gender difference or interactions were found. Our findings suggest that hand laterality affects pain perception even in neonates. However, gender differences in pain perception did not appear to occur during the neonatal period. Further investigations using brain-imaging techniques are required to identify laterality- or gender-related differences in pain processing in humans. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Single motor unit firing behaviour in the right trapezius muscle during rapid movement of right or left index finger.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen eSøgaard

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Computer work is associated with low level sustained activity in the trapezius muscle that may cause myalgia. The activity may be attention related or part of a general multijoint motor program providing stabilization of the shoulder girdle for precise finger manipulation. This study examines single motor unit (MU firing pattern in the right trapezius muscle during fast movements of ipsi or contralateral index finger. Modulated firing rate would support a general multi joint motor program, while a generally increased and continuous firing rate would support attention related activation. 12 healthy female subjects were seated at a computer work place with elbows and forearms supported. Ten double clicks (DC were performed with right and left index finger on a computer mouse instrumented with a trigger.Surface EMG was recorded from right and left trapezius muscle. Intramuscular EMG was recorded with a quadripolar wire electrode in the right trapezius.Surface EMG was analysed as %MVE. The intramuscular EMG was decomposed into individual MU action potential trains. Instantaneous firing rate (IFR was calculated from inter-spike interval with ISI shorter than 20 ms defined as doublets. IFR was averaged across 10 DC to show IFR modulation.Surface EMG in both right and left trapezius was 1.8-2.5%MVE. During right hand DC a total of 32 MUs were identified. Four subjects showed no activity. Four showed MU activity with weak or no variations related to the timing of DC. Four subjects showed large modulation in IFR with temporal relation to DC. During left hand DC 15 MUs were identified in 4 subjects, for two of the subjects with IFR modulations related to DC. Doublets was found as an integrated part of MU activation in the trapezius muscle and for one subject temporarily related to DC. In conclusion, DC with ipsi- and contralateral fast movements of the index finger was found to evoke biomechanically as well as attention related activity pattern in the

  13. Is the hand to speech what speech is to the hand?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mildner, V

    2000-01-01

    Interference between the manual and the verbal performance on two types of concurrent verbal-manual tasks was studied on a sample of 48 female right-handers. The more complex verbal task (storytelling) affected both hands significantly, the less complex (essentially phonemic) task affected only the right hand, with insignificant negative influence on the left-hand performance. No significant reciprocal effects of the motor task on verbalization were found.

  14. Inspections of Hand Washing Supplies and Hand Sanitizer in Public Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Mary M.; Blea, Mary; Trujillo, Rebecca; Greenberg, Cynthia

    2010-01-01

    Hand washing and hand antisepsis are proven infection control measures in the school setting, yet barriers such as lack of soap, paper towels, and hand sanitizer can hinder compliance. This pilot study measured the prevalence of hand cleaning supplies in public schools. Ten school districts (93 schools) participated in school nurse inspections. In…

  15. Robotically enhanced rubber hand illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arata, Jumpei; Hattori, Masashi; Ichikawa, Shohei; Sakaguchi, Masamichi

    2014-01-01

    The rubber hand illusion is a well-known multisensory illusion. In brief, watching a rubber hand being stroked by a paintbrush while one's own unseen hand is synchronously stroked causes the rubber hand to be attributed to one's own body and to "feel like it's my hand." The rubber hand illusion is thought to be triggered by the synchronized tactile stimulation of both the subject's hand and the fake hand. To extend the conventional rubber hand illusion, we introduce robotic technology in the form of a master-slave telemanipulator. The developed one degree-of-freedom master-slave system consists of an exoskeleton master equipped with an optical encoder that is worn on the subject's index finger and a motor-actuated index finger on the rubber hand, which allows the subject to perform unilateral telemanipulation. The moving rubber hand illusion has been studied by several researchers in the past with mechanically connected rigs between the subject's body and the fake limb. The robotic instruments let us investigate the moving rubber hand illusion with less constraints, thus behaving closer to the classic rubber hand illusion. In addition, the temporal delay between the body and the fake limb can be precisely manipulated. The experimental results revealed that the robotic instruments significantly enhance the rubber hand illusion. The time delay is significantly correlated with the effect of the multisensory illusion, and the effect significantly decreased at time delays over 100 ms. These findings can potentially contribute to the investigations of neural mechanisms in the field of neuroscience and of master-slave systems in the field of robotics.

  16. 42 CFR 482.102 - Condition of participation: Patient and living donor rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... health, disability, or life insurance may be affected; (8) The donor's right to opt out of donation at... donor rights. 482.102 Section 482.102 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION FOR...

  17. Dental Student Hand Hygiene Decreased With Increased Clinical Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaembut, Nanmanas; Ampornaramveth, Ruchanee S; Pisarnturakit, Pagaporn P; Subbalekha, Keskanya

    2016-01-01

    To investigate the effectiveness, related knowledge, attitudes, and practices of hand hygiene (HH) among dental students with different levels of clinical experience. This was a cross-sectional analytical study. Bacterial samples on the participants' hands were obtained using a swab technique before and after handwashing, for oral surgical procedures. After culturing, the colony-forming units were counted. Self-reported questionnaires reflecting the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to HH were completed by the participants. This study was performed in a primary oral health care institution, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand). Bacterial samples and self-reported questionnaires were collected in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Bacterial culture was performed in the Department of Microbiology. The 120 participants comprised first, second, third-year clinical training students (CTs), and postgraduate dental students (PGs) (32, 34, 30, and 24 participants, respectively). More than 99% of the bacteria were eliminated from the participants' hands after handwashing. Significantly higher numbers of bacteria were recovered from the hands of the PGs compared with those of the CTs, and the hands of the third-year CTs compared with those of the first-year CTs (p < 0.001), after HH. The first-year CTs had the highest attitude scores, whereas the PGs had the lowest practice scores. The knowledge scores were similar in all groups. HH effectiveness, attitudes, and practices of dental students decreased as students gained more clinical experience, whereas knowledge did not. Our results suggest that HH instruction should be given throughout the duration of dental students' education. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. The human touch: skin temperature during the rubber hand illusion in manual and automated stroking procedures.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marieke Rohde

    Full Text Available A difference in skin temperature between the hands has been identified as a physiological correlate of the rubber hand illusion (RHI. The RHI is an illusion of body ownership, where participants perceive body ownership over a rubber hand if they see it being stroked in synchrony with their own occluded hand. The current study set out to replicate this result, i.e., psychologically induced cooling of the stimulated hand using an automated stroking paradigm, where stimulation was delivered by a robot arm (PHANToM(TM force-feedback device. After we found no evidence for hand cooling in two experiments using this automated procedure, we reverted to a manual stroking paradigm, which is closer to the one employed in the study that first produced this effect. With this procedure, we observed a relative cooling of the stimulated hand in both the experimental and the control condition. The subjective experience of ownership, as rated by the participants, by contrast, was strictly linked to synchronous stroking in all three experiments. This implies that hand-cooling is not a strict correlate of the subjective feeling of hand ownership in the RHI. Factors associated with the differences between the two designs (differences in pressure of tactile stimulation, presence of another person that were thus far considered irrelevant to the RHI appear to play a role in bringing about this temperature effect.

  19. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing: the disruptive effects of attention to the hands in skilled typewriting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logan, Gordon D; Crump, Matthew J C

    2009-10-01

    Everyone knows that attention to the details disrupts skilled performance, but little empirical evidence documents this fact. We show that attention to the hands disrupts skilled typewriting. We had skilled typists type words preceded by cues that told them to type only the letters assigned to one hand or to type all of the letters. Cuing the hands disrupted performance markedly, slowing typing and increasing the error rate (Experiment 1); these deleterious effects were observed even when no keystrokes were actually inhibited (Experiment 3). However, cuing the same letters with colors was not disruptive (Experiment 2). We account for the disruption with a hierarchical control model, in which an inner loop controls the hands and an outer loop controls what is typed. Typing letters using only one hand requires the outer loop to monitor the inner loop's output; the outer loop slows inner-loop cycle time to increase the likelihood of inhibiting responses with the unwanted hand. This produces the disruption.

  20. Cerebral Activations Related to Writing and Drawing with Each Hand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potgieser, Adriaan R. E.; van der Hoorn, Anouk; de Jong, Bauke M.

    2015-01-01

    Background Writing is a sequential motor action based on sensorimotor integration in visuospatial and linguistic functional domains. To test the hypothesis of lateralized circuitry concerning spatial and language components involved in such action, we employed an fMRI paradigm including writing and drawing with each hand. In this way, writing-related contributions of dorsal and ventral premotor regions in each hemisphere were assessed, together with effects in wider distributed circuitry. Given a right-hemisphere dominance for spatial action, right dorsal premotor cortex dominance was expected in left-hand writing while dominance of the left ventral premotor cortex was expected during right-hand writing. Methods Sixteen healthy right-handed subjects were scanned during audition-guided writing of short sentences and simple figure drawing without visual feedback. Tapping with a pencil served as a basic control task for the two higher-order motor conditions. Activation differences were assessed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). Results Writing and drawing showed parietal-premotor and posterior inferior temporal activations in both hemispheres when compared to tapping. Drawing activations were rather symmetrical for each hand. Activations in left- and right-hand writing were left-hemisphere dominant, while right dorsal premotor activation only occurred in left-hand writing, supporting a spatial motor contribution of particularly the right hemisphere. Writing contrasted to drawing revealed left-sided activations in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex, Broca’s area, pre-Supplementary Motor Area and posterior middle and inferior temporal gyri, without parietal activation. Discussion The audition-driven postero-inferior temporal activations indicated retrieval of virtual visual form characteristics in writing and drawing, with additional activation concerning word form in the left hemisphere. Similar parietal processing in writing and drawing pointed at a

  1. Cerebral activations related to writing and drawing with each hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potgieser, Adriaan R E; van der Hoorn, Anouk; de Jong, Bauke M

    2015-01-01

    Writing is a sequential motor action based on sensorimotor integration in visuospatial and linguistic functional domains. To test the hypothesis of lateralized circuitry concerning spatial and language components involved in such action, we employed an fMRI paradigm including writing and drawing with each hand. In this way, writing-related contributions of dorsal and ventral premotor regions in each hemisphere were assessed, together with effects in wider distributed circuitry. Given a right-hemisphere dominance for spatial action, right dorsal premotor cortex dominance was expected in left-hand writing while dominance of the left ventral premotor cortex was expected during right-hand writing. Sixteen healthy right-handed subjects were scanned during audition-guided writing of short sentences and simple figure drawing without visual feedback. Tapping with a pencil served as a basic control task for the two higher-order motor conditions. Activation differences were assessed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). Writing and drawing showed parietal-premotor and posterior inferior temporal activations in both hemispheres when compared to tapping. Drawing activations were rather symmetrical for each hand. Activations in left- and right-hand writing were left-hemisphere dominant, while right dorsal premotor activation only occurred in left-hand writing, supporting a spatial motor contribution of particularly the right hemisphere. Writing contrasted to drawing revealed left-sided activations in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex, Broca's area, pre-Supplementary Motor Area and posterior middle and inferior temporal gyri, without parietal activation. The audition-driven postero-inferior temporal activations indicated retrieval of virtual visual form characteristics in writing and drawing, with additional activation concerning word form in the left hemisphere. Similar parietal processing in writing and drawing pointed at a common mechanism by which such visually

  2. Embodied finger counting in children with different cultural backgrounds and hand dominance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liutsko L.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Background. Embodied finger counting has been shown to have cross-cultural differences in previous studies (Lindemann, Alipour, & Fisher, 2011; Soto & Lalain, 2008. However, their results were contradictory in reference to Western populations with regard to the hand preferred: The first study showed that in Western countries — Europe and the United States — participants preferred to start with the left hand (whereas in the Middle East — Iran — they used the right hand; the second study showed that participants in France preferred the right hand. Objective. Our study aimed to observe these differences in two countries, Spain (Western Europe and Russia (Eastern Europe part, although taking into account the variety of cultural or ethnic groups who live there. Design. The observational/descriptive study, together with correlational analysis of the finger-counting pattern (from 1 to 10 used by children aged 10 to 12 who had not been taught to use their fingers for counting, considered factors of cultural origin and hand dominance. The possible effects of this action on cognition — in our case, math achievement — were considered also. Results and conclusion. The differences in the frequency of the finger-counting patterns might suggest cultural-individual differences in performance; however, the correlational analysis did not reveal that these differences were statistically significant, either for gender or for mark in math. However, hand dominance was a significant predictor of the preferred hand with which to start counting.

  3. Modulation of motor cortex excitability by physical similarity with an observed hand action.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Christine Désy

    Full Text Available The passive observation of hand actions is associated with increased motor cortex excitability, presumably reflecting activity within the human mirror neuron system (MNS. Recent data show that in-group ethnic membership increases motor cortex excitability during observation of culturally relevant hand gestures, suggesting that physical similarity with an observed body part may modulate MNS responses. Here, we ask whether the MNS is preferentially activated by passive observation of hand actions that are similar or dissimilar to self in terms of sex and skin color. Transcranial magnetic stimulation-induced motor evoked potentials were recorded from the first dorsal interosseus muscle while participants viewed videos depicting index finger movements made by female or male participants with black or white skin color. Forty-eight participants equally distributed in terms of sex and skin color participated in the study. Results show an interaction between self-attributes and physical attributes of the observed hand in the right motor cortex of female participants, where corticospinal excitability is increased during observation of hand actions in a different skin color than that of the observer. Our data show that specific physical properties of an observed action modulate motor cortex excitability and we hypothesize that in-group/out-group membership and self-related processes underlie these effects.

  4. The Effects of Industrial Protective Gloves and Hand Skin Temperatures on Hand Grip Strength and Discomfort Rating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramadan, Mohamed Z

    2017-12-04

    Daily working activities and functions require a high contribution of hand and forearm muscles in executing grip force. To study the effects of wearing different gloves on grip strength, under a variety of hand skin temperatures, an assessment of the maximum grip strength was performed with 32 healthy male workers with a mean age (standard deviation) of 30.44 (5.35) years wearing five industrial gloves at three hand skin temperatures. Their ages and anthropometric characteristics including body mass index (BMI), hand length, hand width, hand depth, hand palm, and wrist circumference were measured. The hand was exposed to different bath temperatures (5 °C, 25 °C, and 45 °C) and hand grip strength was measured using a Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer with and without wearing the gloves (chemical protection glove, rubber insulating glove, anti-vibration impact glove, cotton yarn knitted glove, and RY-WG002 working glove). The data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, Pearson correlation coefficient, Tukey test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the within-subject design analysis. The results showed that wearing gloves significantly affected the maximum grip strength. Wearing the RY-WG002 working glove produced a greater reduction on the maximum grip when compared with the bare hand, while low temperatures (5 °C) had a significant influence on grip when compared to medium (25 °C) and high (45 °C) hand skin temperatures. In addition, participants felt more discomfort in both environmental extreme conditions. Furthermore, they reported more discomfort while wearing neoprene, rubber, and RY-WG002 working gloves.

  5. The association of hand preference and sensation seeking behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuderer, Sonja; Kirchengast, Sylvia

    Although the human body shows a superficial symmetry, the disparate functions and skills of both body halves lead to an asymmetrical use. As a result, lateral preferences are detectable, which also include the favoured use of one hand ('handedness'). The collection of questionnaire data on sensation seeking and the conduction of behavioral handedness tasks by 55 research participants enabled the investigation of the interaction of handedness and sensation seeking. For this procedure the age-homogeneous study population is divided according to the Handedness-Index (HI) - a calculated value, indicating the practical hand preference. The results reveal a stronger lateralization in right-handed participants as well as a difference in the mean value of hand use in the three handedness groups. Sensation seeking behavior shows significant negative correlations with age as well as with the HI. Higher scores of left-handers in Experience Seeking (ES), Sensation Seeking (SS) as well as in Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) indicate a larger risk investment in this handedness group. Hence, the results of this study suggest that handedness is a strong indicator of risk behavior.

  6. New frontiers in the rubber hand experiment: when a robotic hand becomes one's own.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caspar, Emilie A; De Beir, Albert; Magalhaes De Saldanha Da Gama, Pedro A; Yernaux, Florence; Cleeremans, Axel; Vanderborght, Bram

    2015-09-01

    The rubber hand illusion is an experimental paradigm in which participants consider a fake hand to be part of their body. This paradigm has been used in many domains of psychology (i.e., research on pain, body ownership, agency) and is of clinical importance. The classic rubber hand paradigm nevertheless suffers from limitations, such as the absence of active motion or the reliance on approximate measurements, which makes strict experimental conditions difficult to obtain. Here, we report on the development of a novel technology-a robotic, user- and computer-controllable hand-that addresses many of the limitations associated with the classic rubber hand paradigm. Because participants can actively control the robotic hand, the device affords higher realism and authenticity. Our robotic hand has a comparatively low cost and opens up novel and innovative methods. In order to validate the robotic hand, we have carried out three experiments. The first two studies were based on previous research using the rubber hand, while the third was specific to the robotic hand. We measured both sense of agency and ownership. Overall, results show that participants experienced a "robotic hand illusion" in the baseline conditions. Furthermore, we also replicated previous results about agency and ownership.

  7. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EMG BIOFEEDBACK ON HAND FUNCTION IN SUBJECTS WITH STROKE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Sethana

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Stroke is an event caused by the interruption of the blood supply to the brain, usually because a blood vessel bursts or blocked by a clot. Biofeedback can be defined as the technique of using equipment usually electronic to reveal to human beings about some of their internal physiological events normal and abnormal in form of auditory and visual signals. Method: The stroke patients diagnosed by neurologist were recruited from physiotherapy department and inpatients from neurology and general wards of SVIMS hospital, Tirupathi Andhra Pradesh. In the present study 30 subjects were randomly assigned to 15 experimental and 15 control groups. The subject was made to sit comfortably and the Surfaces electrodes were placed on Extensor carpi radialis, Extensor digitorum communis muscle belly and for 30minutes patient voluntarily contracts until signals displayed on screen for which visually and auditory cues are given. In control group placebo EMG where machine is turned away & has no cues. Both groups received CONVENTIONAL PHYSIOTHERAPY; for 30 minutes at a Frequency: 1 hour per day for 5days in a week, for 6weeks. Results: There was statistically significant (p<0.05 improvement in both variables from baseline to 6thweek in experimental group compared to control group. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the potential benefits of EMG BF in improving hand function in subjects with stroke.

  8. Hand eczema

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ibler, K.S.; Jemec, G.B.E.; Flyvholm, M.-A.

    2012-01-01

    Background. Healthcare workers are at increased risk of developing hand eczema. Objectives. To investigate the prevalence and severity of self-reported hand eczema, and to relate the findings to demographic data, occupation, medical speciality, wards, shifts, and working hours. Patients/materials......Background. Healthcare workers are at increased risk of developing hand eczema. Objectives. To investigate the prevalence and severity of self-reported hand eczema, and to relate the findings to demographic data, occupation, medical speciality, wards, shifts, and working hours. Patients...... dermatitis, younger age, male sex (male doctors), and working hours. Eighty nine per cent of subjects reported mild/moderate lesions. Atopic dermatitis was the only factor significantly related to severity. Sick leave was reported by 8% of subjects, and notification to the authorities by 12%. Conclusions...... or severity, but cultural differences between professions with respect to coping with the eczema were significant. Atopic dermatitis was related to increased prevalence and severity, and preventive efforts should be made for healthcare workers with atopic dermatitis....

  9. Thumb Reach of Indonesian Young Adult When Interacting with Touchscreen of Single-Handed Device: A Preliminary Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umami, M. K.

    2018-01-01

    This study is a preliminary survey on thumb reach of Indonesian population when interacting with single-handed device. This study was aimed to know the thumb reach envelope on the screen of mobile phone. The correlation between the thumb reach vs. the hand length and thumb length was also identified. Thirty young adults participated in the study. All participants had normal body stature and were right-handed person. In the observational phase, the participant was asked to colour the canvas area on the screen of the mobile phone by using his/her thumb. The participant had to complete the task by applying the single hand interaction. The participant should grab the mobile phone as he/she use it normally in his/her daily activities. The thumb reach envelope of participants was identified from the coloured area of the canvas. The results of this study found that participants with a large hand length and thumb length tend to have a large thumb reach. The results of this study also show the thumb reach area of the participants is forming an elliptical shape that runs from the northeast to southwest on the device screen.

  10. Self-Grounded Vision: Hand Ownership Modulates Visual Location through Cortical β and γ Oscillations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faivre, Nathan; Dönz, Jonathan; Scandola, Michele; Dhanis, Herberto; Bello Ruiz, Javier; Bernasconi, Fosco; Salomon, Roy; Blanke, Olaf

    2017-01-04

    Vision is known to be shaped by context, defined by environmental and bodily signals. In the Taylor illusion, the size of an afterimage projected on one's hand changes according to proprioceptive signals conveying hand position. Here, we assessed whether the Taylor illusion does not just depend on the physical hand position, but also on bodily self-consciousness as quantified through illusory hand ownership. Relying on the somatic rubber hand illusion, we manipulated hand ownership, such that participants embodied a rubber hand placed next to their own hand. We found that an afterimage projected on the participant's hand drifted depending on illusory ownership between the participants' two hands, showing an implication of self-representation during the Taylor illusion. Oscillatory power analysis of electroencephalographic signals showed that illusory hand ownership was stronger in participants with stronger α suppression over left sensorimotor cortex, whereas the Taylor illusion correlated with higher β/γ power over frontotemporal regions. Higher γ connectivity between left sensorimotor and inferior parietal cortex was also found during illusory hand ownership. These data show that afterimage drifts in the Taylor illusion do not only depend on the physical hand position but also on subjective ownership, which itself is based on the synchrony of somatosensory signals from the two hands. The effect of ownership on afterimage drifts is associated with β/γ power and γ connectivity between frontoparietal regions and the visual cortex. Together, our results suggest that visual percepts are not only influenced by bodily context but are self-grounded, mapped on a self-referential frame. Vision is influenced by the body: in the Taylor illusion, the size of an afterimage projected on one's hand changes according to tactile and proprioceptive signals conveying hand position. Here, we report a new phenomenon revealing that the perception of afterimages depends not only

  11. A Clash of Conventions? Participation, Power and the Rights of Disabled Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ralph Sandland

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This article considers the neglected topic of the relationship between the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with regard to the participation rights of disabled children. It analyses key articles in both conventions and considers relevant general comments from both convention committees (the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and their interpretation by academic contributors. The article argues that much work on this topic fails to develop an adequate understanding of power relations, and that the ‘social model of disability’ which underpins the disabilities convention, when applied to ‘childhood’ (as opposed to ‘children’ suggests that the implications of that convention for the participation rights of all children, not only disabled children, are profound. This is because the disabilities convention rejects the relevance of tests of capacity and ‘best interests’ for disabled adults, for reasons which are equally germane to disabled children, and children in general. The article concludes with discussion of the difficulties in implementing the insights derived from the analysis of the disabilities convention in substantive law in the absence of a right to freedom from age discrimination for children, and suggests other, less far-reaching, reforms that could be made this notwithstanding.

  12. Language, subjectivity and participation in psychiatric institutions in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ringer, Agnes

    Although the field of health communication is growing, few studies of everyday communication between patients and professionals in the mental health sector have been conducted. This project studies the everyday interactions between multidisciplinary mental health professionals and patients at two...... for participation and involvement in psychiatry are negotiated for the patients? Finally, the project wishes to understand what the encounters with the professionals and the practices of the institution may mean for the patients’ self-understandings and subjectivity....

  13. Reliability of the Handgrip Strength Test in Elderly Subjects With Parkinson Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villafañe, Jorge H; Valdes, Kristin; Buraschi, Riccardo; Martinelli, Marco; Bissolotti, Luciano; Negrini, Stefano

    2016-03-01

    The handgrip strength test is widely used by clinicians; however, little has been investigated about its reliability when used in subjects with Parkinson disease (PD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the test-retest reliability of the handgrip strength test for subjects with PD. The PD group consisted of 15 patients, and the control group consisted of 15 healthy subjects. Each patient performed 3 pain-free maximal isometric contractions on each hand on 2 occasions, 1 week apart. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), and 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were calculated. The 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to determine the differences between sides and groups. Test-retest reliability of measurements of grip strength was excellent for dominant (ICC = 0.97; P = .001) and non-dominant (ICC = 0.98; P = .001) hand of participant with PD and (ICC = 0.99; P = .001) and (ICC = 0.99; P = .001) respectively, of healthy group. The Jamar hand dynamometer had fair to excellent test-retest reliability to test grip strength in participants with PD.

  14. Enhanced performance feedback and patient participation to improve hand hygiene compliance of health-care workers in the setting of established multimodal promotion: a single-centre, cluster randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewardson, Andrew James; Sax, Hugo; Gayet-Ageron, Angèle; Touveneau, Sylvie; Longtin, Yves; Zingg, Walter; Pittet, Didier

    2016-12-01

    84), and from 66% (62-70) to 77% (74-80) in the enhanced performance feedback plus patient participation group (1·73, 1·51-1·98). The absolute difference in compliance attributable to interventions was 3 percentage points (95% CI 0-7; p=0·19) for the enhanced performance feedback group and 4 percentage points (1-8; p=0·048) for the enhanced performance feedback plus patient participation group. Hand hygiene compliance remained significantly higher than baseline in all three groups (OR 1·21 [1·00-1·47] vs 1·38 [1·19-1·60] vs 1·36 [1·18-1·57]) during the post-intervention follow-up (Jan 1, 2013, to Dec 31, 2014). Hand hygiene compliance improved in all study groups, and neither intervention had a clinically significant effect compared with control. Improvement in control wards might reflect cross-contamination, highlighting challenges with randomised trials of behaviour change. Swiss National Science Foundation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Cross-cultural adaptation of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) for Hebrew-speaking subjects with and without hand injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marom, Batia S; Carel, Rafael S; Sharabi, Moshe; Ratzon, Navah Z

    2017-06-01

    The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) questionnaire is used internationally to assess function and disability. The instrument has been translated into several languages, but no Hebrew version exists. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of the 12-item WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire among Hebrew speakers with and without hand injuries (HI). The translated questionnaire was conducted among 155 uninjured subjects (UI) and 77 male workers with HI. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Test-retest reliability was assessed in UI subjects and calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC agreement ). Validity was evaluated by correlating the 12-item WHODAS 2.0 to the short-form of health survey (SF-12) in UI subjects and comparing the 12-item WHODAS 2.0 scores and the Quick Disability of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (QDASH) Outcome Measure in the HI group. The Cronbach's alpha of the WHODAS 2.0 for the entire sample was α = 0.83. The ICC agreement for test-retest reliability was 0.88. A positive significant correlation was found between the 12-item WHODAS 2.0 and the QDASH (r s  = 0.53, p < .005). The results support the reliability and validity of this Hebrew translation of the 12-item WHODAS 2.0. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Measurement tools that assess activities and participation after HI are an essential part of the rehabilitation process. The 12-item WHODAS 2.0 is a useful tool, since it addresses a broader range of activity and participation domains compared to the DASH and enables better implementation of the ICF model. Since the WHODAS 2.0 does not target a specific disease (as oppose to the DASH), it can be used to compare disabilities caused by different diseases or traumas. The WHODAS 2.0 measures both the function and disability in general populations as well as clinical situations; therefore, the instrument is useful for assessing both health and disability.

  16. Masculinity, Subjectivity and Neoliberalism in Men's Accounts of Migration and Higher Educational Participation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Penny Jane

    2011-01-01

    In this article, I explore men's educational experiences and aspirations in the context of UK policy discourses of widening participation and migration. Critiquing discourses that oversimplify gendered access to higher education, I develop an analysis of the impact of masculine subjectivities on processes of subjective construction in relation to…

  17. Affordance of Participation Rights for Children in Home-Based Education and Care: An Interactive Process Model of Participation--2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Layland, Judy

    2010-01-01

    Recent models relating to the affordance of children's participation rights, based on articles 12 and 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights Of the Child (1989), have focused on the role of and strategies used by the adults working with children ("Children and Society" 10, 2001: 107-117; "Children and Society" 20,…

  18. A search for right-handed dW bosons in bar pp collisions with the D0 detector at Fermilab

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldschmidt, A.

    1996-01-01

    This thesis reports on a search for right-handed W bosons (W R ). Data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider at √s=1.8 TeV were used to search for W R decays into an electron and a massive right-handed neutrino W R ± → e ± N R . Using the inclusive electron data, mass limits independent of the N R decay were set: m W R > 650 GeV/c 2 and m W R > 720 GeV/c 2 at the 95% confidence level, valid for m N R W R and m N R much-lt m W R respectively (assuming Standard Model couplings). The latter also represents a new lower limit on the mass of a heavy left-handed W boson (W') decaying into eν. In addition, limits on m W R valid for larger values of the N R mass were obtained assuming that N R decays to an electron and two jets. 50 refs., 58 figs., 14 tabs

  19. The Effects of Industrial Protective Gloves and Hand Skin Temperatures on Hand Grip Strength and Discomfort Rating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Z. Ramadan

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Daily working activities and functions require a high contribution of hand and forearm muscles in executing grip force. To study the effects of wearing different gloves on grip strength, under a variety of hand skin temperatures, an assessment of the maximum grip strength was performed with 32 healthy male workers with a mean age (standard deviation of 30.44 (5.35 years wearing five industrial gloves at three hand skin temperatures. Their ages and anthropometric characteristics including body mass index (BMI, hand length, hand width, hand depth, hand palm, and wrist circumference were measured. The hand was exposed to different bath temperatures (5 °C, 25 °C, and 45 °C and hand grip strength was measured using a Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer with and without wearing the gloves (chemical protection glove, rubber insulating glove, anti-vibration impact glove, cotton yarn knitted glove, and RY-WG002 working glove. The data were analyzed using the Shapiro–Wilk test, Pearson correlation coefficient, Tukey test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA of the within-subject design analysis. The results showed that wearing gloves significantly affected the maximum grip strength. Wearing the RY-WG002 working glove produced a greater reduction on the maximum grip when compared with the bare hand, while low temperatures (5 °C had a significant influence on grip when compared to medium (25 °C and high (45 °C hand skin temperatures. In addition, participants felt more discomfort in both environmental extreme conditions. Furthermore, they reported more discomfort while wearing neoprene, rubber, and RY-WG002 working gloves.

  20. Children's participation in research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Broström professor m.so., Stig

    2012-01-01

    In (post) modern society children are seen as active subjects and participants who have a legitimate basis in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. As a consequence of this, children are able to play an active role in the 10 planning of/and participation in both education...

  1. Rubber hand illusion affects joint angle perception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin V Butz

    Full Text Available The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI is a well-established experimental paradigm. It has been shown that the RHI can affect hand location estimates, arm and hand motion towards goals, the subjective visual appearance of the own hand, and the feeling of body ownership. Several studies also indicate that the peri-hand space is partially remapped around the rubber hand. Nonetheless, the question remains if and to what extent the RHI can affect the perception of other body parts. In this study we ask if the RHI can alter the perception of the elbow joint. Participants had to adjust an angular representation on a screen according to their proprioceptive perception of their own elbow joint angle. The results show that the RHI does indeed alter the elbow joint estimation, increasing the agreement with the position and orientation of the artificial hand. Thus, the results show that the brain does not only adjust the perception of the hand in body-relative space, but it also modifies the perception of other body parts. In conclusion, we propose that the brain continuously strives to maintain a consistent internal body image and that this image can be influenced by the available sensory information sources, which are mediated and mapped onto each other by means of a postural, kinematic body model.

  2. Functional relationship between dominant and non-dominant hand in motor task - hand grip strength endurance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kljajić Dragana

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the functional relationship between dominant and non-dominant hand in the strength endurance motor task - hand grip, in the referent population of healthy and young persons. For the purpose of the research we have implemented the method of isometric dynamometry and standardized hand grip test. The study included 48 participants, 23 of them being of female and 25 of male gender. The analysis of variance (ANOVA was used to determine the difference between the sets of variables in the function of gender and functional dimorphism, while the Bonferroni criterion was applied to determine the differences between pairs of individual variables. The difference between the maximum hand grip of dominant and non-dominant hand in female participants amounted to 9.28%, and in male ones 7.39% in favor of the dominant hand. There is no statistically significant difference between nondominant and dominant hand regarding the force endurance time aspect at 30%, 50% and 80% out of the maximum hand grip level, as well as at the absolute and relative force impulse indicators as an endurance measure. The value of gender dimorphism in relation to the absolute indicators of force momentum at 30%, 50% and 80% out of the maximum hand grip level in female participants is 0.9714, 0.9145, 0.9301, and in male participants 0.9515, 0.8264 and 0.8606. The force momentum indicators value at 30%, 50% and 80% out of the maximum hand grip level in female participants is ImpF30%=21167.58±6923.67 Ns, ImpF50%=10846.94±3800.56 Ns and ImpF80%=5438.46±1993.12 Ns, and in male participants ImpF30%=17734.03±6881.92 Ns, ImpF50%=13903.61±3437.76 Ns and ImpF80%=5117.53±1894.78 Ns. The obtained results can be used as the criteria for further research in special education and rehabilitation, medical and professional rehabilitation.

  3. Hand hygiene promotion and the participation of infection control link nurses: an effective innovation to overcome campaign fatigue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seto, Wing Hong; Yuen, Shanny W S; Cheung, Christina W Y; Ching, Patricia T Y; Cowling, Benjamin J; Pittet, Didier

    2013-12-01

    Campaign fatigue was evident in a large hospital in Hong Kong when hand hygiene compliance remained just above 50% after 4 years of aggressive and varied promotional activities. A new innovative strategy was developed that directly involved the infection control link nurses both in formulating the strategy and in implementing the various proposed programs. The new strategy was successful in increasing hand hygiene compliance to 83%. Copyright © 2013 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Antimicrobial efficacy of alcohol-based hand gels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilhermetti, M; Marques Wiirzler, L A; Castanheira Facio, B; da Silva Furlan, M; Campo Meschial, W; Bronharo Tognim, M C; Botelho Garcia, L; Luiz Cardoso, C

    2010-03-01

    In recent years, several commercial alcohol-based hand gels have appeared on the market to improve the hand-cleansing compliance of healthcare workers. Although the antimicrobial efficacy of these products has been reported in different countries, few studies have investigated this subject in Brazil. In this study, we assessed the antimicrobial efficacy of 12 alcohol-based hand gels produced in Brazil, containing 70% w/w or v/v ethyl alcohol as the active ingredient, according to the European Standard EN 1500 (EN 1500). The following alcohol gels were tested: Hand Gel, Voga Gel, Solumax Solugel, Doctor Clean, Rio Gel, Clear Gel, Sevengel, Hand CHC, Gel Bac, WBL-50 Gel, Sanigel and Soft Care Gel. In addition, 70% w/w ethyl alcohol and three alcohol-based hand rubs (Sterillium, Sterillium Gel, and Spitaderm), commonly used in Europe and effective according to EN 1500, were also tested. All the products tested, except for two, were approved by the EN 1500 test protocol with a 60s application. The results confirmed the antimicrobial efficacy of the majority of the alcohol gels produced in Brazil for hand hygiene of healthcare workers. Copyright 2009 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Effects of worry on physiological and subjective reactivity to emotional stimuli in generalized anxiety disorder and nonanxious control participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llera, Sandra J; Newman, Michelle G

    2010-10-01

    The present study examined the effect of worry versus relaxation and neutral thought activity on both physiological and subjective responding to positive and negative emotional stimuli. Thirty-eight participants with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and 35 nonanxious control participants were randomly assigned to engage in worry, relaxation, or neutral inductions prior to sequential exposure to each of four emotion-inducing film clips. The clips were designed to elicit fear, sadness, happiness, and calm emotions. Self reported negative and positive affect was assessed following each induction and exposure, and vagal activity was measured throughout. Results indicate that worry (vs. relaxation) led to reduced vagal tone for the GAD group, as well as higher negative affect levels for both groups. Additionally, prior worry resulted in less physiological and subjective responding to the fearful film clip, and reduced negative affect in response to the sad clip. This suggests that worry may facilitate avoidance of processing negative emotions by way of preventing a negative emotional contrast. Implications for the role of worry in emotion avoidance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Right on Post-trial Access to Investigational Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dmytro Lurye

    2018-03-01

    On this base, the author offered to provide in the legislation of Ukraine requirements to inform in advance subjects about the presence or absence of post-trial access and to evaluate these provisions by ethics committees before and at the end of all trials in order to determine its real need in each individual case. The scope of the right on post-trial access to investigational treatment must be reasonably weighed in order to avoid, on the one hand, becoming an excessive stimulus for the subjects, and, on the other hand, not leading to a situation where on such regulation conducting of clinical trials in the country will no longer be appropriate.

  7. Total Participation Management: Toward Psychological Determinants of Subjective Well-Being at Work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarzyna Mika

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Aiming to determine which management practice has the strongest influence on the subjective well-being (SWB of employees, three workplaces were assessed with reference to different levels of total participation management (TPM, an innovative approach to human resource management. The study examined whether the level of TPM is positively related with SWB, defined according to Diener’s (1984 affective and cognitive facets of work. The psychological explanation of the predicted dependence was the level of satisfaction of three basic needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness distinguished by Deci and Ryan (2000a. The hypothesis about a positive relationship between SWB and TPM was confirmed. Results indicate that the least participative company has employees with the lowest subjective well-being and with the lowest satisfaction of basic psychological needs.

  8. Relationship between sensitivity to visuotactile temporal discrepancy and the rubber hand illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimada, Sotaro; Suzuki, Tatsuya; Yoda, Naohiko; Hayashi, Tomoya

    2014-08-01

    The rubber-hand illusion (RHI) is that the subject feels the visually presented tactile stimulation of an artificial (rubber) hand as their own tactile sensation and is caused by stimulating the rubber and real hands synchronously. Our previous study showed that the RHI was greatly reduced as the visual feedback delay of the tactile stimulation of the hand became longer. In the present study, we investigate the relationship between the attenuation of the RHI and the detection of the delay in two experiments: (1) an RHI experiment and (2) a visuotactile asynchrony detection experiment, in which the subjects underwent tactile stimulation of their hand and judged whether visual feedback was consistent with the touch sensation. In line with our previous study, the RHI was significantly reduced as the delay lengthened. Interestingly, proprioceptive drift declined linearly as the delay increased, while the delay detection rate was better fitted by a non-linear (logistic) function. The illusion score showed the intermittent pattern. We suggest that proprioceptive drift is relevant to the processing of the body schema, whereas the delay detection and the subjective feeling of the RHI are more related to the body image processing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

  9. WHY ADULTS LEARN: INTERPRETING ADULTS’ REASONS TO PARTICIPATE IN EDUCATION IN TERMS OF ECCLES’ SUBJECTIVE TASK VALUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Gorges

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Psychological research shows that subjective task value, a basic component of expectancyvalue theory as outlined by Eccles, predicts task choice (e.g., going to graduate school. However, Eccles’ approach has not been used to investigate adult learning so far. Therefore, the present study investigated a specific form of subjective task value and task choice, namely adults’ subjective task value of participation in education. Based on expectancy-value theory, qualitative content analyses of 16 interviews with adult learners (aged between 21 and 67 from varying age groups and educational backgrounds show a differentiation of positive value according to points of reference and a revised conceptualisation of cost as an independent component of subjective task value with four subcomponents. Apparently people estimate positive value and cost separately at first and only later weigh these components against each other to arrive at an overall evaluation of subjective task value, which, in turn, predicts participation in education. Moreover, results suggest a distinction between anticipated subjective task value prior to participation and subjective task value based on experience (i.e., in hindsight. Benefits of using expectancy-value theory for future research on adults’ participation in education are discussed.

  10. Feasibility: An important but neglected issue in patient hand hygiene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knighton, Shanina C; McDowell, Cherese; Rai, Herleen; Higgins, Patricia; Burant, Christopher; Donskey, Curtis J

    2017-06-01

    Patient hand hygiene may be a useful strategy to prevent acquisition of pathogens and to reduce the risk for transmission by colonized patients. Several studies demonstrate that patients and long-term-care facility (LTCF) residents may have difficulty using hand hygiene products that are provided; however, none of them measure feasibility for patients to use different hand hygiene products. A convenience sample of 42 hospitalized patients and 46 LTCF residents was assessed for their ability to use 3 hand sanitizer products (8-oz pushdown pump bottle, 2-oz pocket-sized bottle with a reclosable lid, and alcohol-impregnated hand wipes). The time (seconds) required for accessing each product was compared among acute-care patients and LTCF residents. Participants provided feedback on which product they preferred and found easiest to use. Of 88 participants, 86 (97.7%) preferred the pushdown pump, 2 (2.3%) preferred the bottle with the reclosable lid, and none preferred the hand wipes. For both hospitalized patients and LTCF residents, the average time required to access the pushdown pump was significantly less than the time required to access the other products (pushdown pump, 0.45 seconds; bottle with reclosable lid, 3.86 seconds; and wipes, 5.66 seconds; P hand hygiene products for patients and LTCF residents. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. An automated hand hygiene training system improves hand hygiene technique but not compliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwok, Yen Lee Angela; Callard, Michelle; McLaws, Mary-Louise

    2015-08-01

    The hand hygiene technique that the World Health Organization recommends for cleansing hands with soap and water or alcohol-based handrub consists of 7 poses. We used an automated training system to improve clinicians' hand hygiene technique and test whether this affected hospitalwide hand hygiene compliance. Seven hundred eighty-nine medical and nursing staff volunteered to participate in a self-directed training session using the automated training system. The proportion of successful first attempts was reported for each of the 7 poses. Hand hygiene compliance was collected according to the national requirement and rates for 2011-2014 were used to determine the effect of the training system on compliance. The highest pass rate was for pose 1 (palm to palm) at 77% (606 out of 789), whereas pose 6 (clean thumbs) had the lowest pass rate at 27% (216 out of 789). One hundred volunteers provided feedback to 8 items related to satisfaction with the automated training system and most (86%) expressed a high degree of satisfaction and all reported that this method was time-efficient. There was no significant change in compliance rates after the introduction of the automated training system. Observed compliance during the posttraining period declined but increased to 82% in response to other strategies. Technology for training clinicians in the 7 poses played an important education role but did not affect compliance rates. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. The alien hand sign. Localization, lateralization and recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, G; Bloom, K K

    1990-10-01

    The alien hand sign was first described by Brion and Jedynak as a "feeling of estrangement between the patient and one of his hands." The affected hand frequently shows a grasp reflex and an instinctive grasp reaction as well as elements of what Denny-Brown referred to as a "magnetic apraxia" associated with frontal lobe damage. Most notably, however, the affected hand is observed to perform apparently purposive behaviors that are perceived as being outside the volitional control of the patient. The patients interpret the behavior of their own affected limb as being controlled by an external agent. They do not feel that they are initiating or controlling the behavior of the hand and often express dismay at the hand's "extravolitional" activity. The patients attempt to control behavior of the alien hand with the unimpaired hand by forcibly restraining the affected limb, an act that may be termed "self-restriction." In this paper, we report an additional four cases of alien hand sign in right-handed subjects: two involving the right hand and two involving the left hand. In each case, the clinical findings were associated with extensive unilateral damage of the medial frontal cortex of the hemisphere contralateral to the affected hand. Furthermore, the alien movement gradually disappears over the course of 6-12 months after the stroke. These clinical case studies are presented and discussed in the context of the "dual premotoer systems hypothesis," an anatomicophysiological model that proposes that action is organized by two separate but interactive premotor brain systems corresponding to evolutionarily defined medial and lateral cortical moieties. It is hypothesized that the alien mode behavior results from unconstrained activity of the lateral premotor system in the damaged hemisphere. The residual volitional control in the limb occurs through the activity of the intact medial premotor system of the ipsilateral hemisphere. Recovery may occur through extension of

  13. Digitized hand-wrist radiographs: comparison of subjective and software-derived image quality at various compression ratios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCord, Layne K; Scarfe, William C; Naylor, Rachel H; Scheetz, James P; Silveira, Anibal; Gillespie, Kevin R

    2007-05-01

    The objectives of this study were to compare the effect of JPEG 2000 compression of hand-wrist radiographs on observer image quality qualitative assessment and to compare with a software-derived quantitative image quality index. Fifteen hand-wrist radiographs were digitized and saved as TIFF and JPEG 2000 images at 4 levels of compression (20:1, 40:1, 60:1, and 80:1). The images, including rereads, were viewed by 13 orthodontic residents who determined the image quality rating on a scale of 1 to 5. A quantitative analysis was also performed by using a readily available software based on the human visual system (Image Quality Measure Computer Program, version 6.2, Mitre, Bedford, Mass). ANOVA was used to determine the optimal compression level (P quality. When we used quantitative indexes, the JPEG 2000 images had lower quality at all compression ratios compared with the original TIFF images. There was excellent correlation (R2 >0.92) between qualitative and quantitative indexes. Image Quality Measure indexes are more sensitive than subjective image quality assessments in quantifying image degradation with compression. There is potential for this software-based quantitative method in determining the optimal compression ratio for any image without the use of subjective raters.

  14. Priming Hand Motor Training with Repetitive Stimulation of the Fingertips; Performance Gain and Functional Imaging of Training Effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lotze, Martin; Ladda, Aija Marie; Roschka, Sybille; Platz, Thomas; Dinse, Hubert R

    Application of repetitive electrical stimulation (rES) of the fingers has been shown to improve tactile perception and sensorimotor performance in healthy individuals. To increase motor performance by priming the effects of active motor training (arm ability training; AAT) using rES. We compared the performance gain for the training increase of the averaged AAT tasks of both hands in two groups of strongly right-handed healthy volunteers. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) before and after AAT was assessed using three tasks for each hand separately: finger sequence tapping, visually guided grip force modulation, and writing. Performance during fMRI was controlled for preciseness and frequency. A total of 30 participants underwent a two-week unilateral left hand AAT, 15 participants with 20 minutes of rES priming of all fingertips of the trained hand, and 15 participants without rES priming. rES-primed AAT improved the trained left-hand performance across all training tasks on average by 32.9%, non-primed AAT improved by 29.5%. This gain in AAT performance with rES priming was predominantly driven by an increased finger tapping velocity. Functional imaging showed comparable changes for both training groups over time. Across all participants, improved AAT performance was associated with a higher contralateral primary somatosensory cortex (S1) fMRI activation magnitude during the grip force modulation task. This study highlights the importance of S1 for hand motor training gain. In addition, it suggests the usage of rES of the fingertips for priming active hand motor training. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Common variants in left/right asymmetry genes and pathways are associated with relative hand skill.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William M Brandler

    Full Text Available Humans display structural and functional asymmetries in brain organization, strikingly with respect to language and handedness. The molecular basis of these asymmetries is unknown. We report a genome-wide association study meta-analysis for a quantitative measure of relative hand skill in individuals with dyslexia [reading disability (RD] (n = 728. The most strongly associated variant, rs7182874 (P = 8.68 × 10(-9, is located in PCSK6, further supporting an association we previously reported. We also confirmed the specificity of this association in individuals with RD; the same locus was not associated with relative hand skill in a general population cohort (n = 2,666. As PCSK6 is known to regulate NODAL in the development of left/right (LR asymmetry in mice, we developed a novel approach to GWAS pathway analysis, using gene-set enrichment to test for an over-representation of highly associated variants within the orthologs of genes whose disruption in mice yields LR asymmetry phenotypes. Four out of 15 LR asymmetry phenotypes showed an over-representation (FDR ≤ 5%. We replicated three of these phenotypes; situs inversus, heterotaxia, and double outlet right ventricle, in the general population cohort (FDR ≤ 5%. Our findings lead us to propose that handedness is a polygenic trait controlled in part by the molecular mechanisms that establish LR body asymmetry early in development.

  16. Back to basics: hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spruce, Lisa

    2013-11-01

    Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant issue in the United States and throughout the world, but following proper hand hygiene practices is the most effective and least expensive way to prevent HAIs. Hand hygiene is inexpensive and protects patients and health care personnel alike. The four general types of hand hygiene that should be performed in the perioperative environment are washing hands that are visibly soiled, hand hygiene using alcohol-based products, surgical hand scrubs, and surgical hand scrubs using an alcohol-based surgical hand rub product. Barriers to proper hand hygiene may include not thinking about it, forgetting, skin irritation, a lack of role models, or a lack of a safety culture. One strategy for improving hand hygiene practices is monitoring hand hygiene as part of a quality improvement project, but the most important aspect for perioperative team members is to set an example for other team members by following proper hand hygiene practices and reminding each other to perform hand hygiene. Copyright © 2013 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Right-handed neutrino dark matter under the B−L gauge interaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaneta, Kunio [Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe, Institute for Basic Science,Daejeon 34051 (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Zhaofeng [School of Physics, Korea Institute for Advanced Study,Seoul 02455 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hye-Sung [Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe, Institute for Basic Science,Daejeon 34051 (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-02-07

    We study the right-handed neutrino (RHN) dark matter candidate in the minimal U(1){sub B−L} gauge extension of the standard model. The U(1){sub B−L} gauge symmetry offers three RHNs which can address the origin of the neutrino mass, the relic dark matter, and the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe. The lightest among the three is taken as the dark matter candidate, which is under the B−L gauge interaction. We investigate various scenarios for this dark matter candidate with the correct relic density by means of the freeze-out or freeze-in mechanism. A viable RHN dark matter mass lies in a wide range including keV to TeV scale. We emphasize the sub-electroweak scale light B−L gauge boson case, and identify the parameter region motivated from the dark matter physics, which can be tested with the planned experiments including the CERN SHiP experiment.

  18. Is This Hand for Real? Attenuation of the Rubber Hand Illusion by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation over the Inferior Parietal Lobule

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kammers, M.P.M.; Verhagen, L.; Dijkerman, H.C.; Hogendoorn, H.; Vignemont, F. de; Schutter, D.J.L.G.

    2009-01-01

    In the rubber hand illusion (RHI), participants incorporate a rubber hand into a mental representation of one's body. This deceptive feeling of ownership is accompanied by recalibration of the perceived position of the participant's real hand toward the rubber hand. Neuroimaging data suggest

  19. The BL-QMR algorithm for non-Hermitian linear systems with multiple right-hand sides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freund, R.W. [AT& T Bell Labs., Murray Hill, NJ (United States)

    1996-12-31

    Many applications require the solution of multiple linear systems that have the same coefficient matrix, but differ in their right-hand sides. Instead of applying an iterative method to each of these systems individually, it is potentially much more efficient to employ a block version of the method that generates iterates for all the systems simultaneously. However, it is quite intricate to develop robust and efficient block iterative methods. In particular, a key issue in the design of block iterative methods is the need for deflation. The iterates for the different systems that are produced by a block method will, in general, converge at different stages of the block iteration. An efficient and robust block method needs to be able to detect and then deflate converged systems. Each such deflation reduces the block size, and thus the block method needs to be able to handle varying block sizes. For block Krylov-subspace methods, deflation is also crucial in order to delete linearly and almost linearly dependent vectors in the underlying block Krylov sequences. An added difficulty arises for Lanczos-type block methods for non-Hermitian systems, since they involve two different block Krylov sequences. In these methods, deflation can now occur independently in both sequences, and consequently, the block sizes in the two sequences may become different in the course of the iteration, even though they were identical at the beginning. We present a block version of Freund and Nachtigal`s quasi-minimal residual method for the solution of non-Hermitian linear systems with single right-hand sides.

  20. Reliability of the "Ten Test" for assessment of discriminative sensation in hand trauma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, Michael J; Regan, William R; Seal, Alex; Bristol, Sean G

    2016-10-01

    "Ten Test" (TT) is a bedside measure of discriminative sensation, whereby the magnitude of abnormal sensation to moving light touch is normalized to an area of normal sensation on an 11-point Likert scale (0-10). The purposes of this study were to determine reliability parameters of the TT in a cohort of patients presenting to a hand trauma clinic with subjectively altered sensation post-injury and to compare the reliability of TT to that of the Weinstein Enhanced Sensory Test (WEST). Study participants (n = 29, mean age = 37 ± 12) comprised patients presenting to an outpatient hand trauma clinic with recent hand trauma and self reported abnormal sensation. Participants underwent TT and WEST by two separate raters on the same day. Interrater reliability, response stability and responsiveness of each test were determined by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC: 2, 1), standard error of measurement (SEM) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and minimal detectable difference score, with 95% CI (MDD95), respectively. The TT displayed excellent interrater reliability (ICC = 0.95, 95% CI 0.89-0.97) compared to good reliability for WEST (ICC = 0.78, 95% CI 0.58-0.89). The range of true scores expected with 95% confidence based on the SEM (i.e. response stability), was ±1.1 for TT and ±1.1 for WEST. MDD95 scores reflecting test responsiveness were 1.5 and 1.6 for TT and WEST, respectively. The TT displayed excellent reliability parameters in this patient population. Reliability parameters were stronger for TT compared to WEST. These results provide support for the use of TT as a component of the sensory exam in hand trauma. Copyright © 2016 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Hand-to-Hand Model for Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis to Estimate Fat Free Mass in a Healthy Population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsueh-Kuan Lu

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to establish a hand-to-hand (HH model for bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA fat free mass (FFM estimation by comparing with a standing position hand-to-foot (HF BIA model and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA; we also verified the reliability of the newly developed model. A total of 704 healthy Chinese individuals (403 men and 301 women participated. FFM (FFMDXA reference variables were measured using DXA and segmental BIA. Further, regression analysis, Bland–Altman plots, and cross-validation (2/3 participants as the modeling group, 1/3 as the validation group; three turns were repeated for validation grouping were conducted to compare tests of agreement with FFMDXA reference variables. In male participants, the hand-to-hand BIA model estimation equation was calculated as follows: FFMmHH = 0.537 h2/ZHH − 0.126 year + 0.217 weight + 18.235 (r2 = 0.919, standard estimate of error (SEE = 2.164 kg, n = 269. The mean validated correlation coefficients and limits of agreement (LOAs of the Bland–Altman analysis of the calculated values for FFMmHH and FFMDXA were 0.958 and −4.369–4.343 kg, respectively, for hand-to-foot BIA model measurements for men; the FFM (FFMmHF and FFMDXA were 0.958 and −4.356–4.375 kg, respectively. The hand-to-hand BIA model estimating equation for female participants was FFMFHH = 0.615 h2/ZHH − 0.144 year + 0.132 weight + 16.507 (r2 = 0.870, SEE = 1.884 kg, n = 201; the three mean validated correlation coefficient and LOA for the hand-to-foot BIA model measurements for female participants (FFMFHH and FFMDXA were 0.929 and −3.880–3.886 kg, respectively. The FFMHF and FFMDXA were 0.942 and −3.511–3.489 kg, respectively. The results of both hand-to-hand and hand-to-foot BIA models demonstrated similar reliability, and the hand-to-hand BIA models are practical for assessing FFM.

  2. Hand-to-Hand Model for Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis to Estimate Fat Free Mass in a Healthy Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Hsueh-Kuan; Chiang, Li-Ming; Chen, Yu-Yawn; Chuang, Chih-Lin; Chen, Kuen-Tsann; Dwyer, Gregory B; Hsu, Ying-Lin; Chen, Chun-Hao; Hsieh, Kuen-Chang

    2016-10-21

    This study aimed to establish a hand-to-hand (HH) model for bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) fat free mass (FFM) estimation by comparing with a standing position hand-to-foot (HF) BIA model and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA); we also verified the reliability of the newly developed model. A total of 704 healthy Chinese individuals (403 men and 301 women) participated. FFM (FFM DXA ) reference variables were measured using DXA and segmental BIA. Further, regression analysis, Bland-Altman plots, and cross-validation (2/3 participants as the modeling group, 1/3 as the validation group; three turns were repeated for validation grouping) were conducted to compare tests of agreement with FFM DXA reference variables. In male participants, the hand-to-hand BIA model estimation equation was calculated as follows: FFM m HH = 0.537 h²/Z HH - 0.126 year + 0.217 weight + 18.235 ( r ² = 0.919, standard estimate of error (SEE) = 2.164 kg, n = 269). The mean validated correlation coefficients and limits of agreement (LOAs) of the Bland-Altman analysis of the calculated values for FFM m HH and FFM DXA were 0.958 and -4.369-4.343 kg, respectively, for hand-to-foot BIA model measurements for men; the FFM (FFM m HF ) and FFM DXA were 0.958 and -4.356-4.375 kg, respectively. The hand-to-hand BIA model estimating equation for female participants was FFM F HH = 0.615 h²/Z HH - 0.144 year + 0.132 weight + 16.507 ( r ² = 0.870, SEE = 1.884 kg, n = 201); the three mean validated correlation coefficient and LOA for the hand-to-foot BIA model measurements for female participants (FFM F HH and FFM DXA ) were 0.929 and -3.880-3.886 kg, respectively. The FFM HF and FFM DXA were 0.942 and -3.511-3.489 kg, respectively. The results of both hand-to-hand and hand-to-foot BIA models demonstrated similar reliability, and the hand-to-hand BIA models are practical for assessing FFM.

  3. Search for right-handed currents in the decay chain of K+ → μ+νμ, μ+ → e+νeν-barμ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoki, M.; Yamazaki, T.; Imazato, J.

    1993-12-01

    The asymmetry of positrons in the K + → μ + ν, μ + → e + ν e ν-bar μ decay chain was measured in a search for right-handed weak currents in ΔS = 1 semi-leptonic decay. High-intensity low-background monoenergetic polarized muons of 236 MeV/c momentum resulting from kaon decay at rest were directly extracted from a primary production target which was hit by a proton beam of the KEK 12-GeV proton synchrotron. Muons were stopped in a pure-aluminum plate, and the energy-integrated asymmetry of the decay positrons with respect to the incoming muon direction was determined to high precision. The observed asymmetry yielded ξP μ = -0.9996 ± 0.0030(stat) ± 0.0048(sys). This result revealed no evidence of right-handed currents in this kaon-decay chain, and set a stringent bound on the mass of the right-handed weak boson. (author) 52 refs

  4. [Hand osteoarthritis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Šenolt, Ladislav

    Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic disorder causing pain and limitation of mobility of affected joints. The prevalence of hand OA increases with age and more often affects females. Clinical signs obviously do not correlate with radiographic findings - symptomatic hand OA affects approximately 26 % of adult subjects, but radiographic changes can be found in up to two thirds of females and half of males older than 55 years.Disease course differ among individual patients. Hand OA is a heterogeneous disease. Nodal hand OA is the most common subtype affecting interphalangeal joints, thumb base OA affects first carpometacarpal joint. Erosive OA represents a specific subtype of hand OA, which is associated with joint inflammation, more pain, functional limitation and erosive findings on radiographs.Treatment of OA is limited. Analgesics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the only agents reducing symptoms. New insights into the pathogenesis of disease should contribute to the development of novel effective treatment of hand OA.

  5. Body-specific motor imagery of hand actions: neural evidence from right- and left-handers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roel M Willems

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available If motor imagery uses neural structures involved in action execution, then the neural correlates of imagining an action should differ between individuals who tend to execute the action differently. Here we report fMRI data showing that motor imagery is influenced by the way people habitually perform motor actions with their particular bodies; that is, motor imagery is ‘body-specific’ (Casasanto, 2009. During mental imagery for complex hand actions, activation of cortical areas involved in motor planning and execution was left-lateralized in right-handers but right-lateralized in left-handers. We conclude that motor imagery involves the generation of an action plan that is grounded in the participant’s motor habits, not just an abstract representation at the level of the action’s goal. People with different patterns of motor experience form correspondingly different neurocognitive representations of imagined actions.

  6. Changes to online control and eye-hand coordination with healthy ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Rielly, Jessica L; Ma-Wyatt, Anna

    2018-06-01

    Goal directed movements are typically accompanied by a saccade to the target location. Online control plays an important part in correction of a reach, especially if the target or goal of the reach moves during the reach. While there are notable changes to visual processing and motor control with healthy ageing, there is limited evidence about how eye-hand coordination during online updating changes with healthy ageing. We sought to quantify differences between older and younger people for eye-hand coordination during online updating. Participants completed a double step reaching task implemented under time pressure. The target perturbation could occur 200, 400 and 600 ms into a reach. We measured eye position and hand position throughout the trials to investigate changes to saccade latency, movement latency, movement time, reach characteristics and eye-hand latency and accuracy. Both groups were able to update their reach in response to a target perturbation that occurred at 200 or 400 ms into the reach. All participants demonstrated incomplete online updating for the 600 ms perturbation time. Saccade latencies, measured from the first target presentation, were generally longer for older participants. Older participants had significantly increased movement times but there was no significant difference between groups for touch accuracy. We speculate that the longer movement times enable the use of new visual information about the target location for online updating towards the end of the movement. Interestingly, older participants also produced a greater proportion of secondary saccades within the target perturbation condition and had generally shorter eye-hand latencies. This is perhaps a compensatory mechanism as there was no significant group effect on final saccade accuracy. Overall, the pattern of results suggests that online control of movements may be qualitatively different in older participants. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All

  7. The neural correlates of biomechanical constraints in hand laterality judgment task performed from other person's perspective: A near-infrared spectroscopy study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Shuang; Oi, Misato; Saito, Godai; Saito, Hirofumi

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies, mainly using a first-person perspective (1PP), have shown that the judgments of the hand laterality judgment (HLJ) task are dependent on biomechanical constraints (BC). Specifically, differing reaction times (RT) for hand pictures rotated medially or laterally around the mid sagittal plane are attributed to the BC effect on motor imagery. In contrast, we investigated whether the HLJ task is also subject to BC when performed from a third-person perspective (3PP) as well as 1PP using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure the brain activity of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in right-handed participants assigned to 1PP or 3PP groups. The 1PP group judged whether a presented hand was their own left or right hand, and the 3PP group whether it was the other's left or right hand. Using their HLJ task error rates, the 1PP and 3PP groups were subdivided into an Error Group (EG) and No Error Group (NEG). For the 1PP group, both EG and NEG showed a significant Hand Laterality × Orientation interaction for RT, indicating the BC effect on motor imagery. For the 3PP group, however, neither EG nor NEG showed the interaction, even though EG showed a significantly longer RT than NEG. These results suggest that the 3PP EG appropriately followed the 3PP task instruction, while the NEG might have taken 1PP. However, the 3PP EG NIRS profile of left PFC showed a significant Hand Laterality × Orientation interaction, while the 1PP EG did not. More noteworthy is that the left PFC activation of EG showed an interaction between the 1PP and 3PP groups when the left hand was presented. Furthermore, in the NEG, the PFC activation was not influenced by the BC in either the 1PP or 3PP condition. These results indicate that BC interferes with the HLJ task performed from the 1PP and 3PP.

  8. The neural correlates of biomechanical constraints in hand laterality judgment task performed from other person's perspective: A near-infrared spectroscopy study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuang Meng

    Full Text Available Previous studies, mainly using a first-person perspective (1PP, have shown that the judgments of the hand laterality judgment (HLJ task are dependent on biomechanical constraints (BC. Specifically, differing reaction times (RT for hand pictures rotated medially or laterally around the mid sagittal plane are attributed to the BC effect on motor imagery. In contrast, we investigated whether the HLJ task is also subject to BC when performed from a third-person perspective (3PP as well as 1PP using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS to measure the brain activity of prefrontal cortex (PFC in right-handed participants assigned to 1PP or 3PP groups. The 1PP group judged whether a presented hand was their own left or right hand, and the 3PP group whether it was the other's left or right hand. Using their HLJ task error rates, the 1PP and 3PP groups were subdivided into an Error Group (EG and No Error Group (NEG. For the 1PP group, both EG and NEG showed a significant Hand Laterality × Orientation interaction for RT, indicating the BC effect on motor imagery. For the 3PP group, however, neither EG nor NEG showed the interaction, even though EG showed a significantly longer RT than NEG. These results suggest that the 3PP EG appropriately followed the 3PP task instruction, while the NEG might have taken 1PP. However, the 3PP EG NIRS profile of left PFC showed a significant Hand Laterality × Orientation interaction, while the 1PP EG did not. More noteworthy is that the left PFC activation of EG showed an interaction between the 1PP and 3PP groups when the left hand was presented. Furthermore, in the NEG, the PFC activation was not influenced by the BC in either the 1PP or 3PP condition. These results indicate that BC interferes with the HLJ task performed from the 1PP and 3PP.

  9. Hand function with touch screen technology in children with normal hand formation, congenital differences, and neuromuscular disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, David H; Bohn, Deborah K; Agel, Julie; Lindstrom, Katy A; Cronquist, Sara M; Van Heest, Ann E

    2015-05-01

    To measure and compare hand function for children with normal hand development, congenital hand differences (CHD), and neuromuscular disease (NMD) using a function test with touch screen technology designed as an iPhone application. We measured touch screen hand function in 201 children including 113 with normal hand formation, 43 with CHD, and 45 with NMD. The touch screen test was developed on the iOS platform using an Apple iPhone 4. We measured 4 tasks: touching dots on a 3 × 4 grid, dragging shapes, use of the touch screen camera, and typing a line of text. The test takes 60 to 120 seconds and includes a pretest to familiarize the subject with the format. Each task is timed independently and the overall time is recorded. Children with normal hand development took less time to complete all 4 subtests with increasing age. When comparing children with normal hand development with those with CHD or NMD, in children aged less than 5 years we saw minimal differences; those aged 5 to 6 years with CHD took significantly longer total time; those aged 7 to 8 years with NMD took significantly longer total time; those aged 9 to 11 years with CHD took significantly longer total time; and those aged 12 years and older with NMD took significantly longer total time. Touch screen technology has becoming increasingly relevant to hand function in modern society. This study provides standardized age norms and shows that our test discriminates between normal hand development and that in children with CHD or NMD. Diagnostic III. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Hand function evaluation: a factor analysis study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarus, T; Poremba, R

    1993-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate hand function evaluations. Factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to assess the fundamental characteristics of the items included in the Jebsen Hand Function Test and the Smith Hand Function Evaluation. The study sample consisted of 144 subjects without disabilities and 22 subjects with Colles fracture. Results suggest a four factor solution: Factor I--pinch movement; Factor II--grasp; Factor III--target accuracy; and Factor IV--activities of daily living. These categories differentiated the subjects without Colles fracture from the subjects with Colles fracture. A hand function evaluation consisting of these four factors would be useful. Such an evaluation that can be used for current clinical purposes is provided.

  11. Effect of electronic real-time prompting on hand hygiene behaviors in health care workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pong, Steven; Holliday, Pamela; Fernie, Geoff

    2018-03-02

    Poor hand hygiene by health care workers is a major cause of nosocomial infections. This research evaluated the ability of an electronic monitoring system with real-time prompting capability to change hand hygiene behaviors. Handwashing activity was measured by counting dispenser activations on a single nursing unit before, during, and after installation of the system. The effect of changing the prompt duration on hand hygiene performance was determined by a cluster-randomized trial on 3 nursing units with 1 acting as control. Sustainability of performance and participation was observed on 4 nursing units over a year. All staff were eligible to participate. Between June 2015 and December 2016, a total of 459,376 hand hygiene opportunities and 330,740 handwashing events from 511 staff members were recorded. Dispenser activation counts were significantly influenced by use of the system (χ 2 [3] = 75.76; P Hand hygiene performance dropped from 62.61% to 24.94% (odds ratio, 0.36; 95% confidence interval, 0.34-0.38) when the prompting feature was removed. Staff participation had a negative trajectory of -0.72% (P Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Force feedback delay affects perception of stiffness but not action, and the effect depends on the hand used but not on the handedness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leib, Raz; Rubin, Inbar; Nisky, Ilana

    2018-05-16

    Interaction with an object often requires the estimation of its mechanical properties. We examined whether the hand that is used to interact with the object and their handedness affected people's estimation of these properties using stiffness estimation as a test case. We recorded participants' responses on a stiffness discrimination of a virtual elastic force field and the grip force applied on the robotic device during the interaction. In half of the trials, the robotic device delayed the participants' force feedback. Consistent with previous studies, delayed force feedback biased the perceived stiffness of the force field. Interestingly, in both left-handed and right-handed participants, for the delayed force field, there was even less perceived stiffness when participants used their left hand than their right hand. This result supports the idea that haptic processing is affected by laterality in the brain, not by handedness. Consistent with previous studies, participants adjusted their applied grip force according to the correct size and timing of the load force regardless of the hand that was used, the handedness, or the delay. This suggests that in all these conditions, participants were able to form an accurate internal representation of the anticipated trajectory of the load force (size and timing) and that this representation was used for accurate control of grip force independently of the perceptual bias. Thus, these results provide additional evidence for the dissociation between action and perception in the processing of delayed information.

  13. The Effect of Different Attentional Focus Instructions during Finger Movement Tasks in Healthy Subjects: An Exploratory Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giacomo Rossettini

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available External focus of attention (EFA and internal focus of attention (IFA represent commonly used strategies to instruct subjects during exercise. Several studies showed EFA to be more effective than IFA to improve motor performance and learning. To date the role of these strategies on motor performance during finger movement was less studied. The objective of the study was to investigate motor performance, patient’s preference induced by IFA and EFA, and the focus during control condition. Ten healthy right-handed participants performed a finger movement task in control, EFA, and IFA conditions (counterbalanced. Errors, patient’s preference, and type of attentional focus spontaneously adopted during the control condition were recorded. EFA determined less error (p<0.01 compared to control and IFA. Participants preferred EFA against IFA and control condition. In the control group 10% of subjects adopted a purely EFA, 70% of subjects adopted a purely IFA, and 20% of subjects adopted a mixture of the two foci. Our results confirm that EFA is more effective than IFA and control in finger movement task. Due its clinical relevance, the interaction between attention and finger movement should be further investigated.

  14. An analysis of whorl patterns for determination of hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapoor, Neeti; Badiye, Ashish

    2015-05-01

    On crime scenes, whole set of the ten digit fingerprints are rarely found and usually chance prints in the form of single digit fingerprint are encountered. Determination of hand (Right or left) can be of vital importance to reduce the burden on the investigator and may thereby aid in fixation of absolute identity of the donor. In the present investigation, 500 randomly selected and bilateral rolled fingerprints of 250 healthy, consenting adult subjects of a central Indian (Marathi) population with whorl patterns were examined to determine the hand. It was found that by studying various parameters like; slope of apex ridges (towards right, left or absent), rotation of innermost ridges (either clockwise, anti-clockwise or absent), angle formed at both sides of core, position of the perpendicular bisector on the delta line (with respect to core), ridge tracing (outer, inner or meeting), higher ridge count, angle between deltas and core (at deltas), direction of the pattern (tilting/inclination) and distance between the deltas & the core; it is possible to successfully determine the hand of the print. Applying chi-square test, the results were found to be statistically significant at p < 0.01 levels. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

  15. Shape-based hand recognition approach using the morphological pattern spectrum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez-Cortes, Juan Manuel; Gomez-Gil, Pilar; Sanchez-Perez, Gabriel; Prieto-Castro, Cesar

    2009-01-01

    We propose the use of the morphological pattern spectrum, or pecstrum, as the base of a biometric shape-based hand recognition system. The system receives an image of the right hand of a subject in an unconstrained pose, which is captured with a commercial flatbed scanner. According to pecstrum property of invariance to translation and rotation, the system does not require the use of pegs for a fixed hand position, which simplifies the image acquisition process. This novel feature-extraction method is tested using a Euclidean distance classifier for identification and verification cases, obtaining 97% correct identification, and an equal error rate (EER) of 0.0285 (2.85%) for the verification mode. The obtained results indicate that the pattern spectrum represents a good feature-extraction alternative for low- and medium-level hand-shape-based biometric applications.

  16. Control of a Supernumerary Robotic Hand by Foot: An Experimental Study in Virtual Reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdi, Elahe; Burdet, Etienne; Bouri, Mohamed; Bleuler, Hannes

    2015-01-01

    In the operational theater, the surgical team could highly benefit from a robotic supplementary hand under the surgeon's full control. The surgeon may so become more autonomous; this may reduce communication errors with the assistants and take over difficult tasks such as holding tools without tremor. In this paper, we therefore examine the possibility to control a third robotic hand with one foot's movements. Three experiments in virtual reality were designed to assess the feasibility of this control strategy, the learning curve of the subjects in different tasks and the coordination of foot movements with the two natural hands. Results show that the limbs are moved simultaneously, in parallel rather than serially. Participants' performance improved within a few minutes of practice without any specific difficulty to complete the tasks. Subjective assessment by the subjects indicated that controlling a third hand by foot has been easy and required only negligible physical and mental efforts. The sense of ownership was reported to improve through the experiments. The mental burden was not directly related to the level of motion required by a task, but depended on the type of activity and practice. The most difficult task was moving two hands and foot in opposite directions. These results suggest that a combination of practice and appropriate tasks can enhance the learning process for controlling a robotic hand by foot.

  17. Control of a Supernumerary Robotic Hand by Foot: An Experimental Study in Virtual Reality.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elahe Abdi

    Full Text Available In the operational theater, the surgical team could highly benefit from a robotic supplementary hand under the surgeon's full control. The surgeon may so become more autonomous; this may reduce communication errors with the assistants and take over difficult tasks such as holding tools without tremor. In this paper, we therefore examine the possibility to control a third robotic hand with one foot's movements. Three experiments in virtual reality were designed to assess the feasibility of this control strategy, the learning curve of the subjects in different tasks and the coordination of foot movements with the two natural hands. Results show that the limbs are moved simultaneously, in parallel rather than serially. Participants' performance improved within a few minutes of practice without any specific difficulty to complete the tasks. Subjective assessment by the subjects indicated that controlling a third hand by foot has been easy and required only negligible physical and mental efforts. The sense of ownership was reported to improve through the experiments. The mental burden was not directly related to the level of motion required by a task, but depended on the type of activity and practice. The most difficult task was moving two hands and foot in opposite directions. These results suggest that a combination of practice and appropriate tasks can enhance the learning process for controlling a robotic hand by foot.

  18. Comparison of four techniques on facility of two-hand Bag-valve-mask (BVM ventilation: E-C, Thenar Eminence, Thenar Eminence (Dominant hand-E-C (non-dominant hand and Thenar Eminence (non-dominant hand – E-C (dominant hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Soleimanpour

    2016-12-01

    Conclusion: Novice participants did Thenar Eminence (non-dominant hand - E-C (dominant hand technique better than the others. Therefore, it is recommended that training of this technique was placed in educational program of medical students.

  19. Right-handed neutrino dark matter in a U(1) extension of the Standard Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Peter; Han, Chengcheng; Yanagida, Tsutomu T.

    2018-01-01

    We consider minimal U(1) extensions of the Standard Model in which one of the right-handed neutrinos is charged under the new gauge symmetry and plays the role of dark matter. In particular, we perform a detailed phenomenological study for the case of a U(1)(B‑L)3 flavoured B‑L symmetry. If perturbativity is required up to high-scales, we find an upper bound on the dark matter mass of mχlesssim2 TeV, significantly stronger than that obtained in simplified models. Furthermore, if the U(1)(B‑L)3 breaking scalar has significant mixing with the SM Higgs, there are already strong constraints from direct detection. On the other hand, there remains significant viable parameter space in the case of small mixing, which may be probed in the future via LHC Z' searches and indirect detection. We also comment on more general anomaly-free symmetries consistent with a TeV-scale RH neutrino dark matter candidate, and show that if two heavy RH neutrinos for leptogenesis are also required, one is naturally led to a single-parameter class of U(1) symmetries.

  20. Left-right compatibility in the processing of trading verbs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vicario, Carmelo M; Rumiati, Raffaella I

    2014-01-01

    The research investigating the nature of cognitive processes involved in the representation of economical outcomes is growing. Within this research, the mental accounting model proposes that individuals may well use cognitive operations to organize, evaluate, and keep track of their financial activities (Thaler, 1999). Here we wanted to test this hypothesis by asking to a group of participants to detect a syntax mistake of verbs indicating incoming and going out activities related to economical profit (trading verbs), swapping (swapping verbs) and thinking (thinking verbs). We reported a left-right compatibility for trading verbs (i.e., participants were faster with their right hand while detecting verb referring to a monetary gain with respect to a monetary loss; and faster with their left hand while detecting a monetary loss with respect to a monetary gain). However, this pattern of result was not reported while detecting swapping verbs. Results are discussed taking into account the mental accounting theory as well as to the spatial mapping of valence hypothesis.

  1. Relationships between hand laterality and verbal and spatial skills in 436 healthy adults balanced for handedness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mellet, E; Jobard, G; Zago, L; Crivello, F; Petit, L; Joliot, M; Mazoyer, B; Tzourio-Mazoyer, N

    2014-01-01

    The relationship between manual laterality and cognitive skills remains highly controversial. Some studies have reported that strongly lateralised participants had higher cognitive performance in verbal and visuo-spatial domains compared to non-lateralised participants; however, others found the opposite. Moreover, some have suggested that familial sinistrality and sex might interact with individual laterality factors to alter cognitive skills. The present study addressed these issues in 237 right-handed and 199 left-handed individuals. Performance tests covered various aspects of verbal and spatial cognition. A principal component analysis yielded two verbal and one spatial factor scores. Participant laterality assessments included handedness, manual preference strength, asymmetry of motor performance, and familial sinistrality. Age, sex, education level, and brain volume were also considered. No effect of handedness was found, but the mean factor scores in verbal and spatial domains increased with right asymmetry in motor performance. Performance was reduced in participants with a familial history of left-handedness combined with a non-maximal preference strength in the dominant hand. These results elucidated some discrepancies among previous findings in laterality factors and cognitive skills. Laterality factors had small effects compared to the adverse effects of age for spatial cognition and verbal memory, the positive effects of education for all three domains, and the effect of sex for spatial cognition.

  2. Search for heavy neutrinos and W bosons with right-handed couplings in proton-proton collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV

    CERN Document Server

    Khachatryan, Vardan; Tumasyan, Armen; Adam, Wolfgang; Bergauer, Thomas; Dragicevic, Marko; Erö, Janos; Fabjan, Christian; Friedl, Markus; Fruehwirth, Rudolf; Ghete, Vasile Mihai; Hartl, Christian; Hörmann, Natascha; Hrubec, Josef; Jeitler, Manfred; Kiesenhofer, Wolfgang; Knünz, Valentin; Krammer, Manfred; Krätschmer, Ilse; Liko, Dietrich; Mikulec, Ivan; Rabady, Dinyar; Rahbaran, Babak; Rohringer, Herbert; Schöfbeck, Robert; Strauss, Josef; Taurok, Anton; Treberer-Treberspurg, Wolfgang; Waltenberger, Wolfgang; Wulz, Claudia-Elisabeth; Mossolov, Vladimir; Shumeiko, Nikolai; Suarez Gonzalez, Juan; Alderweireldt, Sara; Bansal, Monika; Bansal, Sunil; Cornelis, Tom; De Wolf, Eddi A; Janssen, Xavier; Knutsson, Albert; Luyckx, Sten; Ochesanu, Silvia; Roland, Benoit; Rougny, Romain; Van De Klundert, Merijn; Van Haevermaet, Hans; Van Mechelen, Pierre; Van Remortel, Nick; Van Spilbeeck, Alex; Blekman, Freya; Blyweert, Stijn; D'Hondt, Jorgen; Daci, Nadir; Heracleous, Natalie; Keaveney, James; Lowette, Steven; Maes, Michael; Olbrechts, Annik; Python, Quentin; Strom, Derek; Tavernier, Stefaan; Van Doninck, Walter; Van Mulders, Petra; Van Onsem, Gerrit Patrick; Villella, Ilaria; Caillol, Cécile; Clerbaux, Barbara; De Lentdecker, Gilles; Dobur, Didar; Favart, Laurent; Gay, Arnaud; Grebenyuk, Anastasia; Léonard, Alexandre; Mohammadi, Abdollah; Perniè, Luca; Reis, Thomas; Seva, Tomislav; Thomas, Laurent; Vander Velde, Catherine; Vanlaer, Pascal; Wang, Jian; Adler, Volker; Beernaert, Kelly; Benucci, Leonardo; Cimmino, Anna; Costantini, Silvia; Crucy, Shannon; Dildick, Sven; Fagot, Alexis; Garcia, Guillaume; Mccartin, Joseph; Ocampo Rios, Alberto Andres; Ryckbosch, Dirk; Salva Diblen, Sinem; Sigamani, Michael; Strobbe, Nadja; Thyssen, Filip; Tytgat, Michael; Yazgan, Efe; Zaganidis, Nicolas; Basegmez, Suzan; Beluffi, Camille; Bruno, Giacomo; Castello, Roberto; Caudron, Adrien; Ceard, Ludivine; Da Silveira, Gustavo Gil; Delaere, Christophe; Du Pree, Tristan; Favart, Denis; Forthomme, Laurent; Giammanco, Andrea; Hollar, Jonathan; Jez, Pavel; Komm, Matthias; Lemaitre, Vincent; Nuttens, Claude; Pagano, Davide; Perrini, Lucia; Pin, Arnaud; Piotrzkowski, Krzysztof; Popov, Andrey; Quertenmont, Loic; Selvaggi, Michele; Vidal Marono, Miguel; Vizan Garcia, Jesus Manuel; Beliy, Nikita; Caebergs, Thierry; Daubie, Evelyne; Hammad, Gregory Habib; Aldá Júnior, Walter Luiz; Alves, Gilvan; Brito, Lucas; Correa Martins Junior, Marcos; Pol, Maria Elena; Carvalho, Wagner; Chinellato, Jose; Custódio, Analu; Melo Da Costa, Eliza; De Jesus Damiao, Dilson; De Oliveira Martins, Carley; Fonseca De Souza, Sandro; Malbouisson, Helena; Matos Figueiredo, Diego; Mundim, Luiz; Nogima, Helio; Prado Da Silva, Wanda Lucia; Santaolalla, Javier; Santoro, Alberto; Sznajder, Andre; Tonelli Manganote, Edmilson José; Vilela Pereira, Antonio; Bernardes, Cesar Augusto; Tomei, Thiago; De Moraes Gregores, Eduardo; Mercadante, Pedro G; Novaes, Sergio F; Padula, Sandra; Aleksandrov, Aleksandar; Genchev, Vladimir; Iaydjiev, Plamen; Marinov, Andrey; Piperov, Stefan; Rodozov, Mircho; Sultanov, Georgi; Vutova, Mariana; Dimitrov, Anton; Glushkov, Ivan; Hadjiiska, Roumyana; Kozhuharov, Venelin; Litov, Leander; Pavlov, Borislav; Petkov, Peicho; Bian, Jian-Guo; Chen, Guo-Ming; Chen, He-Sheng; Chen, Mingshui; Du, Ran; Jiang, Chun-Hua; Liang, Dong; Liang, Song; Plestina, Roko; Tao, Junquan; Wang, Xianyou; Wang, Zheng; Asawatangtrakuldee, Chayanit; Ban, Yong; Guo, Yifei; Li, Qiang; Li, Wenbo; Liu, Shuai; Mao, Yajun; Qian, Si-Jin; Wang, Dayong; Zhang, Linlin; Zou, Wei; Avila, Carlos; Chaparro Sierra, Luisa Fernanda; Florez, Carlos; Gomez, Juan Pablo; Gomez Moreno, Bernardo; Sanabria, Juan Carlos; Godinovic, Nikola; Lelas, Damir; Polic, Dunja; Puljak, Ivica; Antunovic, Zeljko; Kovac, Marko; Brigljevic, Vuko; Kadija, Kreso; Luetic, Jelena; Mekterovic, Darko; Sudic, Lucija; Attikis, Alexandros; Mavromanolakis, Georgios; Mousa, Jehad; Nicolaou, Charalambos; Ptochos, Fotios; Razis, Panos A; Bodlak, Martin; Finger, Miroslav; Finger Jr, Michael; Assran, Yasser; Elgammal, Sherif; Mahmoud, Mohammed; Radi, Amr; Kadastik, Mario; Murumaa, Marion; Raidal, Martti; Tiko, Andres; Eerola, Paula; Fedi, Giacomo; Voutilainen, Mikko; Härkönen, Jaakko; Karimäki, Veikko; Kinnunen, Ritva; Kortelainen, Matti J; Lampén, Tapio; Lassila-Perini, Kati; Lehti, Sami; Lindén, Tomas; Luukka, Panja-Riina; Mäenpää, Teppo; Peltola, Timo; Tuominen, Eija; Tuominiemi, Jorma; Tuovinen, Esa; Wendland, Lauri; Tuuva, Tuure; Besancon, Marc; Couderc, Fabrice; Dejardin, Marc; Denegri, Daniel; Fabbro, Bernard; Faure, Jean-Louis; Favaro, Carlotta; Ferri, Federico; Ganjour, Serguei; Givernaud, Alain; Gras, Philippe; Hamel de Monchenault, Gautier; Jarry, Patrick; Locci, Elizabeth; Malcles, Julie; Rander, John; Rosowsky, André; Titov, Maksym; Baffioni, Stephanie; Beaudette, Florian; Busson, Philippe; Charlot, Claude; Dahms, Torsten; Dalchenko, Mykhailo; Dobrzynski, Ludwik; Filipovic, Nicolas; Florent, Alice; Granier de Cassagnac, Raphael; Mastrolorenzo, Luca; Miné, Philippe; Mironov, Camelia; Naranjo, Ivo Nicolas; Nguyen, Matthew; Ochando, Christophe; Paganini, Pascal; Salerno, Roberto; Sauvan, Jean-Baptiste; Sirois, Yves; Veelken, Christian; Yilmaz, Yetkin; Zabi, Alexandre; Agram, Jean-Laurent; Andrea, Jeremy; Aubin, Alexandre; Bloch, Daniel; Brom, Jean-Marie; Chabert, Eric Christian; Collard, Caroline; Conte, Eric; Fontaine, Jean-Charles; Gelé, Denis; Goerlach, Ulrich; Goetzmann, Christophe; Le Bihan, Anne-Catherine; Van Hove, Pierre; Gadrat, Sébastien; Beauceron, Stephanie; Beaupere, Nicolas; Boudoul, Gaelle; Brochet, Sébastien; Carrillo Montoya, Camilo Andres; Chasserat, Julien; Chierici, Roberto; Contardo, Didier; Depasse, Pierre; El Mamouni, Houmani; Fan, Jiawei; Fay, Jean; Gascon, Susan; Gouzevitch, Maxime; Ille, Bernard; Kurca, Tibor; Lethuillier, Morgan; Mirabito, Laurent; Perries, Stephane; Ruiz Alvarez, José David; Sabes, David; Sgandurra, Louis; Sordini, Viola; Vander Donckt, Muriel; Verdier, Patrice; Viret, Sébastien; Xiao, Hong; Bagaturia, Iuri; Autermann, Christian; Beranek, Sarah; Bontenackels, Michael; Edelhoff, Matthias; Feld, Lutz; Hindrichs, Otto; Klein, Katja; Ostapchuk, Andrey; Perieanu, Adrian; Raupach, Frank; Sammet, Jan; Schael, Stefan; Weber, Hendrik; Wittmer, Bruno; Zhukov, Valery; Ata, Metin; Dietz-Laursonn, Erik; Duchardt, Deborah; Erdmann, Martin; Fischer, Robert; Güth, Andreas; Hebbeker, Thomas; Heidemann, Carsten; Hoepfner, Kerstin; Klingebiel, Dennis; Knutzen, Simon; Kreuzer, Peter; Merschmeyer, Markus; Meyer, Arnd; Millet, Philipp; Olschewski, Mark; Padeken, Klaas; Papacz, Paul; Reithler, Hans; Schmitz, Stefan Antonius; Sonnenschein, Lars; Teyssier, Daniel; Thüer, Sebastian; Weber, Martin; Cherepanov, Vladimir; Erdogan, Yusuf; Flügge, Günter; Geenen, Heiko; Geisler, Matthias; Haj Ahmad, Wael; Hoehle, Felix; Kargoll, Bastian; Kress, Thomas; Kuessel, Yvonne; Lingemann, Joschka; Nowack, Andreas; Nugent, Ian Michael; Perchalla, Lars; Pooth, Oliver; Stahl, Achim; Asin, Ivan; Bartosik, Nazar; Behr, Joerg; Behrenhoff, Wolf; Behrens, Ulf; Bell, Alan James; Bergholz, Matthias; Bethani, Agni; Borras, Kerstin; Burgmeier, Armin; Cakir, Altan; Calligaris, Luigi; Campbell, Alan; Choudhury, Somnath; Costanza, Francesco; Diez Pardos, Carmen; Dooling, Samantha; Dorland, Tyler; Eckerlin, Guenter; Eckstein, Doris; Eichhorn, Thomas; Flucke, Gero; Garay Garcia, Jasone; Geiser, Achim; Gunnellini, Paolo; Hauk, Johannes; Hellwig, Gregor; Hempel, Maria; Horton, Dean; Jung, Hannes; Kalogeropoulos, Alexis; Kasemann, Matthias; Katsas, Panagiotis; Kieseler, Jan; Kleinwort, Claus; Krücker, Dirk; Lange, Wolfgang; Leonard, Jessica; Lipka, Katerina; Lobanov, Artur; Lohmann, Wolfgang; Lutz, Benjamin; Mankel, Rainer; Marfin, Ihar; Melzer-Pellmann, Isabell-Alissandra; Meyer, Andreas Bernhard; Mnich, Joachim; Mussgiller, Andreas; Naumann-Emme, Sebastian; Nayak, Aruna; Novgorodova, Olga; Nowak, Friederike; Ntomari, Eleni; Perrey, Hanno; Pitzl, Daniel; Placakyte, Ringaile; Raspereza, Alexei; Ribeiro Cipriano, Pedro M; Ron, Elias; Sahin, Mehmet Özgür; 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Frensch, Felix; Giffels, Manuel; Hartmann, Frank; Hauth, Thomas; Husemann, Ulrich; Katkov, Igor; Kornmayer, Andreas; Kuznetsova, Ekaterina; Lobelle Pardo, Patricia; Mozer, Matthias Ulrich; Müller, Thomas; Nürnberg, Andreas; Quast, Gunter; Rabbertz, Klaus; Ratnikov, Fedor; Röcker, Steffen; Simonis, Hans-Jürgen; Stober, Fred-Markus Helmut; Ulrich, Ralf; Wagner-Kuhr, Jeannine; Wayand, Stefan; Weiler, Thomas; Wolf, Roger; Anagnostou, Georgios; Daskalakis, Georgios; Geralis, Theodoros; Giakoumopoulou, Viktoria Athina; Kyriakis, Aristotelis; Loukas, Demetrios; Markou, Athanasios; Markou, Christos; Psallidas, Andreas; Topsis-Giotis, Iasonas; Panagiotou, Apostolos; Saoulidou, Niki; Stiliaris, Efstathios; Aslanoglou, Xenofon; Evangelou, Ioannis; Flouris, Giannis; Foudas, Costas; Kokkas, Panagiotis; Manthos, Nikolaos; Papadopoulos, Ioannis; Paradas, Evangelos; Bencze, Gyorgy; Hajdu, Csaba; Hidas, Pàl; Horvath, Dezso; Sikler, Ferenc; Veszpremi, Viktor; Vesztergombi, Gyorgy; Zsigmond, Anna Julia; Beni, Noemi; Czellar, Sandor; Karancsi, János; Molnar, Jozsef; Palinkas, Jozsef; Szillasi, Zoltan; Raics, Peter; Trocsanyi, Zoltan Laszlo; Ujvari, Balazs; Swain, Sanjay Kumar; Beri, Suman Bala; Bhatnagar, Vipin; Dhingra, Nitish; Gupta, Ruchi; Bhawandeep, Bhawandeep; Kalsi, Amandeep Kaur; Kaur, Manjit; Mittal, Monika; Nishu, Nishu; Singh, Jasbir; Kumar, Ashok; Kumar, Arun; Ahuja, Sudha; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Choudhary, Brajesh C; Kumar, Ajay; Malhotra, Shivali; Naimuddin, Md; Ranjan, Kirti; Sharma, Varun; Banerjee, Sunanda; Bhattacharya, Satyaki; Chatterjee, Kalyanmoy; Dutta, Suchandra; Gomber, Bhawna; Jain, Sandhya; Jain, Shilpi; Khurana, Raman; Modak, Atanu; Mukherjee, Swagata; Roy, Debarati; Sarkar, Subir; Sharan, Manoj; Abdulsalam, Abdulla; Dutta, Dipanwita; Kailas, Swaminathan; Kumar, Vineet; Mohanty, Ajit Kumar; Pant, Lalit Mohan; Shukla, Prashant; Topkar, Anita; Aziz, Tariq; Banerjee, Sudeshna; Bhowmik, Sandeep; Chatterjee, Rajdeep Mohan; Dewanjee, Ram Krishna; Dugad, Shashikant; Ganguly, Sanmay; 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Riccardi, Cristina; Salvini, Paola; Vitulo, Paolo; Biasini, Maurizio; Bilei, Gian Mario; Ciangottini, Diego; Fanò, Livio; Lariccia, Paolo; Mantovani, Giancarlo; Menichelli, Mauro; Romeo, Francesco; Saha, Anirban; Santocchia, Attilio; Spiezia, Aniello; Androsov, Konstantin; Azzurri, Paolo; Bagliesi, Giuseppe; Bernardini, Jacopo; Boccali, Tommaso; Broccolo, Giuseppe; Castaldi, Rino; Ciocci, Maria Agnese; Dell'Orso, Roberto; Donato, Silvio; Fiori, Francesco; Foà, Lorenzo; Giassi, Alessandro; Grippo, Maria Teresa; Ligabue, Franco; Lomtadze, Teimuraz; Martini, Luca; Messineo, Alberto; Moon, Chang-Seong; Palla, Fabrizio; Rizzi, Andrea; Savoy-Navarro, Aurore; Serban, Alin Titus; Spagnolo, Paolo; Squillacioti, Paola; Tenchini, Roberto; Tonelli, Guido; Venturi, Andrea; Verdini, Piero Giorgio; Vernieri, Caterina; Barone, Luciano; Cavallari, Francesca; Del Re, Daniele; Diemoz, Marcella; Grassi, Marco; Jorda, Clara; Longo, Egidio; Margaroli, Fabrizio; Meridiani, Paolo; Micheli, Francesco; Nourbakhsh, Shervin; Organtini, Giovanni; Paramatti, Riccardo; Rahatlou, Shahram; Rovelli, Chiara; Santanastasio, Francesco; Soffi, Livia; Traczyk, Piotr; Amapane, Nicola; Arcidiacono, Roberta; Argiro, Stefano; Arneodo, Michele; Bellan, Riccardo; Biino, Cristina; Cartiglia, Nicolo; Casasso, Stefano; Costa, Marco; Degano, Alessandro; Demaria, Natale; Finco, Linda; Mariotti, Chiara; Maselli, Silvia; Migliore, Ernesto; Monaco, Vincenzo; Musich, Marco; Obertino, Maria Margherita; Ortona, Giacomo; Pacher, Luca; Pastrone, Nadia; Pelliccioni, Mario; Pinna Angioni, Gian Luca; Potenza, Alberto; Romero, Alessandra; Ruspa, Marta; Sacchi, Roberto; Solano, Ada; Staiano, Amedeo; Tamponi, Umberto; Belforte, Stefano; Candelise, Vieri; Casarsa, Massimo; Cossutti, Fabio; Della Ricca, Giuseppe; Gobbo, Benigno; La Licata, Chiara; Marone, Matteo; Montanino, Damiana; Schizzi, Andrea; Umer, Tomo; Zanetti, Anna; Kim, Tae Jeong; Chang, Sunghyun; Kropivnitskaya, Anna; Nam, Soon-Kwon; Kim, Dong Hee; Kim, Gui Nyun; Kim, Min Suk; Kong, Dae Jung; Lee, Sangeun; Oh, Young Do; Park, Hyangkyu; Sakharov, Alexandre; Son, Dong-Chul; Kim, Jae Yool; Song, Sanghyeon; Choi, Suyong; Gyun, Dooyeon; Hong, Byung-Sik; Jo, Mihee; Kim, Hyunchul; Kim, Yongsun; Lee, Byounghoon; Lee, Kyong Sei; Park, Sung Keun; Roh, Youn; Choi, Minkyoo; Kim, Ji Hyun; Park, Inkyu; Park, Sangnam; Ryu, Geonmo; Ryu, Min Sang; Choi, Young-Il; Choi, Young Kyu; Goh, Junghwan; Kim, Donghyun; Kwon, Eunhyang; Lee, Jongseok; Seo, Hyunkwan; Yu, Intae; Juodagalvis, Andrius; Komaragiri, Jyothsna Rani; Md Ali, Mohd Adli Bin; Castilla-Valdez, Heriberto; De La Cruz-Burelo, Eduard; Heredia-de La Cruz, Ivan; Lopez-Fernandez, Ricardo; Sánchez Hernández, Alberto; Carrillo Moreno, Salvador; Vazquez Valencia, Fabiola; Pedraza, Isabel; Salazar Ibarguen, Humberto Antonio; Casimiro Linares, Edgar; Morelos Pineda, Antonio; Krofcheck, David; Butler, Philip H; Reucroft, Steve; Ahmad, Ashfaq; Ahmad, Muhammad; Hassan, Qamar; Hoorani, Hafeez R; Khalid, Shoaib; Khan, Wajid Ali; Khurshid, Taimoor; Shah, Mehar Ali; Shoaib, Muhammad; Bialkowska, Helena; Bluj, Michal; Boimska, Bożena; Frueboes, Tomasz; Górski, Maciej; Kazana, Malgorzata; Nawrocki, Krzysztof; Romanowska-Rybinska, Katarzyna; Szleper, Michal; Zalewski, Piotr; Brona, Grzegorz; Bunkowski, Karol; Cwiok, Mikolaj; Dominik, Wojciech; Doroba, Krzysztof; Kalinowski, Artur; Konecki, Marcin; Krolikowski, Jan; Misiura, Maciej; Olszewski, Michał; Wolszczak, Weronika; Bargassa, Pedrame; Beirão Da Cruz E Silva, Cristóvão; Faccioli, Pietro; Ferreira Parracho, Pedro Guilherme; Gallinaro, Michele; Nguyen, Federico; Rodrigues Antunes, Joao; Seixas, Joao; Varela, Joao; Vischia, Pietro; Bunin, Pavel; Gavrilenko, Mikhail; Golutvin, Igor; Kamenev, Alexey; Karjavin, Vladimir; Konoplyanikov, Viktor; Lanev, Alexander; Malakhov, Alexander; Matveev, Viktor; Moisenz, Petr; Palichik, Vladimir; Perelygin, Victor; Savina, Maria; Shmatov, Sergey; Shulha, Siarhei; Skatchkov, Nikolai; Smirnov, Vitaly; Zarubin, Anatoli; Golovtsov, Victor; Ivanov, Yury; Kim, Victor; Levchenko, Petr; Murzin, Victor; Oreshkin, Vadim; Smirnov, Igor; Sulimov, Valentin; Uvarov, Lev; Vavilov, Sergey; Vorobyev, Alexey; Vorobyev, Andrey; Andreev, Yuri; Dermenev, Alexander; Gninenko, Sergei; Golubev, Nikolai; Kirsanov, Mikhail; Krasnikov, Nikolai; Pashenkov, Anatoli; Tlisov, Danila; Toropin, Alexander; Epshteyn, Vladimir; Gavrilov, Vladimir; Lychkovskaya, Natalia; Popov, Vladimir; Safronov, Grigory; Semenov, Sergey; Spiridonov, Alexander; Stolin, Viatcheslav; Vlasov, Evgueni; Zhokin, Alexander; Andreev, Vladimir; Azarkin, Maksim; Dremin, Igor; Kirakosyan, Martin; Leonidov, Andrey; Mesyats, Gennady; Rusakov, Sergey V; Vinogradov, Alexey; Belyaev, Andrey; Boos, Edouard; Bunichev, Viacheslav; Dubinin, Mikhail; Dudko, Lev; Ershov, Alexander; Gribushin, Andrey; Klyukhin, Vyacheslav; Kodolova, Olga; Lokhtin, Igor; Obraztsov, Stepan; Petrushanko, Sergey; Savrin, Viktor; Azhgirey, Igor; Bayshev, Igor; Bitioukov, Sergei; Kachanov, Vassili; Kalinin, Alexey; Konstantinov, Dmitri; Krychkine, Victor; Petrov, Vladimir; Ryutin, Roman; Sobol, Andrei; Tourtchanovitch, Leonid; Troshin, Sergey; Tyurin, Nikolay; Uzunian, Andrey; Volkov, Alexey; Adzic, Petar; Ekmedzic, Marko; Milosevic, Jovan; Rekovic, Vladimir; Alcaraz Maestre, Juan; Battilana, Carlo; Calvo, Enrique; Cerrada, Marcos; Chamizo Llatas, Maria; Colino, Nicanor; De La Cruz, Begona; Delgado Peris, Antonio; Domínguez Vázquez, Daniel; Escalante Del Valle, Alberto; Fernandez Bedoya, Cristina; Fernández Ramos, Juan Pablo; Flix, Jose; Fouz, Maria Cruz; Garcia-Abia, Pablo; Gonzalez Lopez, Oscar; Goy Lopez, Silvia; Hernandez, Jose M; Josa, Maria Isabel; Merino, Gonzalo; Navarro De Martino, Eduardo; Pérez Calero Yzquierdo, Antonio María; Puerta Pelayo, Jesus; Quintario Olmeda, Adrián; Redondo, Ignacio; Romero, Luciano; Senghi Soares, Mara; Albajar, Carmen; de Trocóniz, Jorge F; Missiroli, Marino; Moran, Dermot; Brun, Hugues; Cuevas, Javier; Fernandez Menendez, Javier; Folgueras, Santiago; Gonzalez Caballero, Isidro; Lloret Iglesias, Lara; Brochero Cifuentes, Javier Andres; Cabrillo, Iban Jose; Calderon, Alicia; Duarte Campderros, Jordi; Fernandez, Marcos; Gomez, Gervasio; Graziano, Alberto; Lopez Virto, Amparo; Marco, Jesus; Marco, Rafael; Martinez Rivero, Celso; Matorras, Francisco; Munoz Sanchez, Francisca Javiela; Piedra Gomez, Jonatan; Rodrigo, Teresa; Rodríguez-Marrero, Ana Yaiza; Ruiz-Jimeno, Alberto; Scodellaro, Luca; Vila, Ivan; Vilar Cortabitarte, Rocio; Abbaneo, Duccio; Auffray, Etiennette; Auzinger, Georg; Bachtis, Michail; Baillon, Paul; Ball, Austin; Barney, David; Benaglia, Andrea; Bendavid, Joshua; Benhabib, Lamia; Benitez, Jose F; Bernet, Colin; Bianchi, Giovanni; Bloch, Philippe; Bocci, Andrea; Bonato, Alessio; Bondu, Olivier; Botta, Cristina; Breuker, Horst; Camporesi, Tiziano; Cerminara, Gianluca; Colafranceschi, Stefano; D'Alfonso, Mariarosaria; D'Enterria, David; Dabrowski, Anne; David Tinoco Mendes, Andre; De Guio, Federico; De Roeck, Albert; De Visscher, Simon; Dobson, Marc; Dordevic, Milos; Dupont-Sagorin, Niels; Elliott-Peisert, Anna; Eugster, Jürg; Franzoni, Giovanni; Funk, Wolfgang; Gigi, Dominique; Gill, Karl; Giordano, Domenico; Girone, Maria; Glege, Frank; Guida, Roberto; Gundacker, Stefan; Guthoff, Moritz; Hammer, Josef; Hansen, Magnus; Harris, Philip; Hegeman, Jeroen; Innocente, Vincenzo; Janot, Patrick; Kousouris, Konstantinos; Krajczar, Krisztian; Lecoq, Paul; Lourenco, Carlos; Magini, Nicolo; Malgeri, Luca; Mannelli, Marcello; Marrouche, Jad; Masetti, Lorenzo; Meijers, Frans; Mersi, Stefano; Meschi, Emilio; Moortgat, Filip; Morovic, Srecko; Mulders, Martijn; Musella, Pasquale; Orsini, Luciano; Pape, Luc; Perez, Emmanuelle; Perrozzi, Luca; Petrilli, Achille; Petrucciani, Giovanni; Pfeiffer, Andreas; Pierini, Maurizio; Pimiä, Martti; Piparo, Danilo; Plagge, Michael; Racz, Attila; Rolandi, Gigi; Rovere, Marco; Sakulin, Hannes; Schäfer, Christoph; Schwick, Christoph; Sharma, Archana; Siegrist, Patrice; Silva, Pedro; Simon, Michal; Sphicas, Paraskevas; Spiga, Daniele; Steggemann, Jan; Stieger, Benjamin; Stoye, Markus; Treille, Daniel; Tsirou, Andromachi; Veres, Gabor Istvan; Vlimant, Jean-Roch; Wardle, Nicholas; Wöhri, Hermine Katharina; Wollny, Heiner; Zeuner, Wolfram Dietrich; Bertl, Willi; Deiters, Konrad; Erdmann, Wolfram; Horisberger, Roland; Ingram, Quentin; Kaestli, Hans-Christian; König, Stefan; Kotlinski, Danek; Langenegger, Urs; Renker, Dieter; Rohe, Tilman; Bachmair, Felix; Bäni, Lukas; Bianchini, Lorenzo; Bortignon, Pierluigi; Buchmann, Marco-Andrea; Casal, Bruno; Chanon, Nicolas; Deisher, Amanda; Dissertori, Günther; Dittmar, Michael; Donegà, Mauro; Dünser, Marc; Eller, Philipp; Grab, Christoph; Hits, Dmitry; Lustermann, Werner; Mangano, Boris; Marini, Andrea Carlo; Martinez Ruiz del Arbol, Pablo; Meister, Daniel; Mohr, Niklas; Nägeli, Christoph; Nessi-Tedaldi, Francesca; Pandolfi, Francesco; Pauss, Felicitas; Peruzzi, Marco; Quittnat, Milena; Rebane, Liis; Rossini, Marco; Starodumov, Andrei; Takahashi, Maiko; Theofilatos, Konstantinos; Wallny, Rainer; Weber, Hannsjoerg Artur; Amsler, Claude; Canelli, Maria Florencia; Chiochia, Vincenzo; De Cosa, Annapaola; Hinzmann, Andreas; Hreus, Tomas; Kilminster, Benjamin; Millan Mejias, Barbara; Ngadiuba, Jennifer; Robmann, Peter; Ronga, Frederic Jean; Taroni, Silvia; Verzetti, Mauro; Yang, Yong; Cardaci, Marco; Chen, Kuan-Hsin; Ferro, Cristina; Kuo, Chia-Ming; Lin, Willis; Lu, Yun-Ju; Volpe, Roberta; Yu, Shin-Shan; Chang, Paoti; Chang, You-Hao; Chang, Yu-Wei; Chao, Yuan; Chen, Kai-Feng; Chen, Po-Hsun; Dietz, Charles; Grundler, Ulysses; Hou, George Wei-Shu; Kao, Kai-Yi; Lei, Yeong-Jyi; Liu, Yueh-Feng; Lu, Rong-Shyang; Majumder, Devdatta; Petrakou, Eleni; Tzeng, Yeng-Ming; Wilken, Rachel; Asavapibhop, Burin; Srimanobhas, Norraphat; Suwonjandee, Narumon; Adiguzel, Aytul; Bakirci, Mustafa Numan; Cerci, Salim; Dozen, Candan; Dumanoglu, Isa; Eskut, Eda; Girgis, Semiray; Gokbulut, Gul; Gurpinar, Emine; Hos, Ilknur; Kangal, Evrim Ersin; Kayis Topaksu, Aysel; Onengut, Gulsen; Ozdemir, Kadri; Ozturk, Sertac; Polatoz, Ayse; Sogut, Kenan; Sunar Cerci, Deniz; Tali, Bayram; Topakli, Huseyin; Vergili, Mehmet; Akin, Ilina Vasileva; Bilin, Bugra; Bilmis, Selcuk; Gamsizkan, Halil; Karapinar, Guler; Ocalan, Kadir; Sekmen, Sezen; Surat, Ugur Emrah; Yalvac, Metin; Zeyrek, Mehmet; Gülmez, Erhan; Isildak, Bora; Kaya, Mithat; Kaya, Ozlem; Bahtiyar, Hüseyin; Barlas, Esra; Cankocak, Kerem; Vardarlı, Fuat Ilkehan; Yücel, Mete; Levchuk, Leonid; Sorokin, Pavel; Brooke, James John; Clement, Emyr; Cussans, David; Flacher, Henning; Frazier, Robert; Goldstein, Joel; Grimes, Mark; Heath, Greg P; Heath, Helen F; Jacob, Jeson; Kreczko, Lukasz; Lucas, Chris; Meng, Zhaoxia; Newbold, Dave M; Paramesvaran, Sudarshan; Poll, Anthony; Senkin, Sergey; Smith, Vincent J; Williams, Thomas; Bell, Ken W; Belyaev, Alexander; Brew, Christopher; Brown, Robert M; Cockerill, David JA; Coughlan, John A; Harder, Kristian; Harper, Sam; Olaiya, Emmanuel; Petyt, David; Shepherd-Themistocleous, Claire; Thea, Alessandro; Tomalin, Ian R; Womersley, William John; Worm, Steven; Baber, Mark; Bainbridge, Robert; Buchmuller, Oliver; Burton, Darren; Colling, David; Cripps, Nicholas; Cutajar, Michael; Dauncey, Paul; Davies, Gavin; Della Negra, Michel; Dunne, Patrick; Ferguson, William; Fulcher, Jonathan; Futyan, David; Gilbert, Andrew; Hall, Geoffrey; Iles, Gregory; Jarvis, Martyn; Karapostoli, Georgia; Kenzie, Matthew; Lane, Rebecca; Lucas, Robyn; Lyons, Louis; Magnan, Anne-Marie; Malik, Sarah; Mathias, Bryn; Nash, Jordan; Nikitenko, Alexander; Pela, Joao; Pesaresi, Mark; Petridis, Konstantinos; Raymond, David Mark; Rogerson, Samuel; Rose, Andrew; Seez, Christopher; Sharp, Peter; Tapper, Alexander; Vazquez Acosta, Monica; Virdee, Tejinder; Cole, Joanne; Hobson, Peter R; Khan, Akram; Kyberd, Paul; Leggat, Duncan; Leslie, Dawn; Martin, William; Reid, Ivan; Symonds, Philip; Teodorescu, Liliana; Turner, Mark; Dittmann, Jay; Hatakeyama, Kenichi; Kasmi, Azeddine; Liu, Hongxuan; Scarborough, Tara; Charaf, Otman; Cooper, Seth; Henderson, Conor; Rumerio, Paolo; Avetisyan, Aram; Bose, Tulika; Fantasia, Cory; Heister, Arno; Lawson, Philip; Richardson, Clint; Rohlf, James; Sperka, David; St John, Jason; Sulak, Lawrence; Alimena, Juliette; Berry, Edmund; Bhattacharya, Saptaparna; Christopher, Grant; Cutts, David; Demiragli, Zeynep; Ferapontov, Alexey; Garabedian, Alex; Heintz, Ulrich; Kukartsev, Gennadiy; Laird, Edward; Landsberg, Greg; Luk, Michael; Narain, Meenakshi; Segala, Michael; Sinthuprasith, Tutanon; Speer, Thomas; Swanson, Joshua; Breedon, Richard; Breto, Guillermo; Calderon De La Barca Sanchez, Manuel; Chauhan, Sushil; Chertok, Maxwell; Conway, John; Conway, Rylan; Cox, Peter Timothy; Erbacher, Robin; Gardner, Michael; Ko, Winston; Lander, Richard; Miceli, Tia; Mulhearn, Michael; Pellett, Dave; Pilot, Justin; Ricci-Tam, Francesca; Searle, Matthew; Shalhout, Shalhout; Smith, John; Squires, Michael; Stolp, Dustin; Tripathi, Mani; Wilbur, Scott; Yohay, Rachel; Cousins, Robert; Everaerts, Pieter; Farrell, Chris; Hauser, Jay; Ignatenko, Mikhail; Rakness, Gregory; Takasugi, Eric; Valuev, Vyacheslav; Weber, Matthias; Babb, John; Burt, Kira; Clare, Robert; Ellison, John Anthony; Gary, J William; Hanson, Gail; Heilman, Jesse; Ivova Rikova, Mirena; Jandir, Pawandeep; Kennedy, Elizabeth; Lacroix, Florent; Liu, Hongliang; Long, Owen Rosser; Luthra, Arun; Malberti, Martina; Nguyen, Harold; Olmedo Negrete, Manuel; Shrinivas, Amithabh; Sumowidagdo, Suharyo; Wimpenny, Stephen; Andrews, Warren; Branson, James G; Cerati, Giuseppe Benedetto; Cittolin, Sergio; D'Agnolo, Raffaele Tito; Evans, David; Holzner, André; Kelley, Ryan; Klein, Daniel; Lebourgeois, Matthew; Letts, James; Macneill, Ian; Olivito, Dominick; Padhi, Sanjay; Palmer, Christopher; Pieri, Marco; Sani, Matteo; Sharma, Vivek; Simon, Sean; Sudano, Elizabeth; Tadel, Matevz; Tu, Yanjun; Vartak, Adish; Welke, Charles; Würthwein, Frank; Yagil, Avraham; Yoo, Jaehyeok; Barge, Derek; Bradmiller-Feld, John; Campagnari, Claudio; Danielson, Thomas; Dishaw, Adam; Flowers, Kristen; Franco Sevilla, Manuel; Geffert, Paul; George, Christopher; Golf, Frank; Gouskos, Loukas; Incandela, Joe; Justus, Christopher; Mccoll, Nickolas; Richman, Jeffrey; Stuart, David; To, Wing; West, Christopher; Apresyan, Artur; Bornheim, Adolf; Bunn, Julian; Chen, Yi; Di Marco, Emanuele; Duarte, Javier; Mott, Alexander; Newman, Harvey B; Pena, Cristian; Rogan, Christopher; Spiropulu, Maria; Timciuc, Vladlen; Wilkinson, Richard; Xie, Si; Zhu, Ren-Yuan; Azzolini, Virginia; Calamba, Aristotle; Ferguson, Thomas; Iiyama, Yutaro; Paulini, Manfred; Russ, James; Vogel, Helmut; Vorobiev, Igor; Cumalat, John Perry; Ford, William T; Gaz, Alessandro; Luiggi Lopez, Eduardo; Nauenberg, Uriel; Smith, James; Stenson, Kevin; Ulmer, Keith; Wagner, Stephen Robert; Alexander, James; Chatterjee, Avishek; Chu, Jennifer; Dittmer, Susan; Eggert, Nicholas; Mirman, Nathan; Nicolas Kaufman, Gala; Patterson, Juliet Ritchie; Ryd, Anders; Salvati, Emmanuele; Skinnari, Louise; Sun, Werner; Teo, Wee Don; Thom, Julia; Thompson, Joshua; Tucker, Jordan; Weng, Yao; Winstrom, Lucas; Wittich, Peter; Winn, Dave; Abdullin, Salavat; Albrow, Michael; Anderson, Jacob; Apollinari, Giorgio; Bauerdick, Lothar AT; Beretvas, Andrew; Berryhill, Jeffrey; Bhat, Pushpalatha C; Burkett, Kevin; Butler, Joel Nathan; Cheung, Harry; Chlebana, Frank; Cihangir, Selcuk; Elvira, Victor Daniel; Fisk, Ian; Freeman, Jim; Gao, Yanyan; Gottschalk, Erik; Gray, Lindsey; Green, Dan; Grünendahl, Stefan; Gutsche, Oliver; Hanlon, Jim; Hare, Daryl; Harris, Robert M; Hirschauer, James; Hooberman, Benjamin; Jindariani, Sergo; Johnson, Marvin; Joshi, Umesh; Kaadze, Ketino; Klima, Boaz; Kreis, Benjamin; Kwan, Simon; Linacre, Jacob; Lincoln, Don; Lipton, Ron; Liu, Tiehui; Lykken, Joseph; Maeshima, Kaori; Marraffino, John Michael; Martinez Outschoorn, Verena Ingrid; Maruyama, Sho; Mason, David; McBride, Patricia; Mishra, Kalanand; Mrenna, Stephen; Musienko, Yuri; Nahn, Steve; Newman-Holmes, Catherine; O'Dell, Vivian; Prokofyev, Oleg; Sexton-Kennedy, Elizabeth; Sharma, Seema; Soha, Aron; Spalding, William J; Spiegel, Leonard; Taylor, Lucas; Tkaczyk, Slawek; Tran, Nhan Viet; Uplegger, Lorenzo; Vaandering, Eric Wayne; Vidal, Richard; Whitbeck, Andrew; Whitmore, Juliana; Yang, Fan; Acosta, Darin; Avery, Paul; Bourilkov, Dimitri; Carver, Matthew; Cheng, Tongguang; Curry, David; Das, Souvik; De Gruttola, Michele; Di Giovanni, Gian Piero; Field, Richard D; Fisher, Matthew; Furic, Ivan-Kresimir; Hugon, Justin; Konigsberg, Jacobo; Korytov, Andrey; Kypreos, Theodore; Low, Jia Fu; Matchev, Konstantin; Milenovic, Predrag; Mitselmakher, Guenakh; Muniz, Lana; Rinkevicius, Aurelijus; Shchutska, Lesya; Skhirtladze, Nikoloz; Snowball, Matthew; Yelton, John; Zakaria, Mohammed; Hewamanage, Samantha; Linn, Stephan; Markowitz, Pete; Martinez, German; Rodriguez, Jorge Luis; Adams, Todd; Askew, Andrew; Bochenek, Joseph; Diamond, Brendan; Haas, Jeff; Hagopian, Sharon; Hagopian, Vasken; Johnson, Kurtis F; Prosper, Harrison; Veeraraghavan, Venkatesh; Weinberg, Marc; Baarmand, Marc M; Hohlmann, Marcus; Kalakhety, Himali; Yumiceva, Francisco; Adams, Mark Raymond; Apanasevich, Leonard; Bazterra, Victor Eduardo; Berry, Douglas; Betts, Russell Richard; Bucinskaite, Inga; Cavanaugh, Richard; Evdokimov, Olga; Gauthier, Lucie; Gerber, Cecilia Elena; Hofman, David Jonathan; Khalatyan, Samvel; Kurt, Pelin; Moon, Dong Ho; O'Brien, Christine; Silkworth, Christopher; Turner, Paul; Varelas, Nikos; Albayrak, Elif Asli; Bilki, Burak; Clarida, Warren; Dilsiz, Kamuran; Duru, Firdevs; Haytmyradov, Maksat; Merlo, Jean-Pierre; Mermerkaya, Hamit; Mestvirishvili, Alexi; Moeller, Anthony; Nachtman, Jane; Ogul, Hasan; Onel, Yasar; Ozok, Ferhat; Penzo, Aldo; Rahmat, Rahmat; Sen, Sercan; Tan, Ping; Tiras, Emrah; Wetzel, James; Yetkin, Taylan; Yi, Kai; Barnett, Bruce Arnold; Blumenfeld, Barry; Bolognesi, Sara; Fehling, David; Gritsan, Andrei; Maksimovic, Petar; Martin, Christopher; Swartz, Morris; Baringer, Philip; Bean, Alice; Benelli, Gabriele; Bruner, Christopher; Gray, Julia; Kenny III, Raymond Patrick; Malek, Magdalena; Murray, Michael; Noonan, Daniel; Sanders, Stephen; Sekaric, Jadranka; Stringer, Robert; Wang, Quan; Wood, Jeffrey Scott; Barfuss, Anne-Fleur; Chakaberia, Irakli; Ivanov, Andrew; Khalil, Sadia; Makouski, Mikhail; Maravin, Yurii; Saini, Lovedeep Kaur; Shrestha, Shruti; Svintradze, Irakli; Gronberg, Jeffrey; Lange, David; Rebassoo, Finn; Wright, Douglas; Baden, Drew; Belloni, Alberto; Calvert, Brian; Eno, Sarah Catherine; Gomez, Jaime; Hadley, Nicholas John; Kellogg, Richard G; Kolberg, Ted; Lu, Ying; Marionneau, Matthieu; Mignerey, Alice; Pedro, Kevin; Skuja, Andris; Tonjes, Marguerite; Tonwar, Suresh C; Apyan, Aram; Barbieri, Richard; Bauer, Gerry; Busza, Wit; Cali, Ivan Amos; Chan, Matthew; Di Matteo, Leonardo; Dutta, Valentina; Gomez Ceballos, Guillelmo; Goncharov, Maxim; Gulhan, Doga; Klute, Markus; Lai, Yue Shi; Lee, Yen-Jie; Levin, Andrew; Luckey, Paul David; Ma, Teng; Paus, Christoph; Ralph, Duncan; Roland, Christof; Roland, Gunther; Stephans, George; Stöckli, Fabian; Sumorok, Konstanty; Velicanu, Dragos; Veverka, Jan; Wyslouch, Bolek; Yang, Mingming; Zanetti, Marco; Zhukova, Victoria; Dahmes, Bryan; Gude, Alexander; Kao, Shih-Chuan; Klapoetke, Kevin; Kubota, Yuichi; Mans, Jeremy; Pastika, Nathaniel; Rusack, Roger; Singovsky, Alexander; Tambe, Norbert; Turkewitz, Jared; Acosta, John Gabriel; Oliveros, Sandra; Avdeeva, Ekaterina; Bloom, Kenneth; Bose, Suvadeep; Claes, Daniel R; Dominguez, Aaron; Gonzalez Suarez, Rebeca; Keller, Jason; Knowlton, Dan; Kravchenko, Ilya; Lazo-Flores, Jose; Malik, Sudhir; Meier, Frank; Snow, Gregory R; Dolen, James; Godshalk, Andrew; Iashvili, Ia; Kharchilava, Avto; Kumar, Ashish; Rappoccio, Salvatore; Alverson, George; Barberis, Emanuela; Baumgartel, Darin; Chasco, Matthew; Haley, Joseph; Massironi, Andrea; Morse, David Michael; Nash, David; Orimoto, Toyoko; Trocino, Daniele; Wang, Ren-Jie; Wood, Darien; Zhang, Jinzhong; Hahn, Kristan Allan; Kubik, Andrew; Mucia, Nicholas; Odell, Nathaniel; Pollack, Brian; Pozdnyakov, Andrey; Schmitt, Michael Henry; Stoynev, Stoyan; Sung, Kevin; Velasco, Mayda; Won, Steven; Brinkerhoff, Andrew; Chan, Kwok Ming; Drozdetskiy, Alexey; Hildreth, Michael; Jessop, Colin; Karmgard, Daniel John; Kellams, Nathan; Lannon, Kevin; Luo, Wuming; Lynch, Sean; Marinelli, Nancy; Pearson, Tessa; Planer, Michael; Ruchti, Randy; Valls, Nil; Wayne, Mitchell; Wolf, Matthias; Woodard, Anna; Antonelli, Louis; Brinson, Jessica; Bylsma, Ben; Durkin, Lloyd Stanley; Flowers, Sean; Hill, Christopher; Hughes, Richard; Kotov, Khristian; Ling, Ta-Yung; Puigh, Darren; Rodenburg, Marissa; Smith, Geoffrey; Vuosalo, Carl; Winer, Brian L; Wolfe, Homer; Wulsin, Howard Wells; Driga, Olga; Elmer, Peter; Hebda, Philip; Hunt, Adam; Koay, Sue Ann; Lujan, Paul; Marlow, Daniel; Medvedeva, Tatiana; Mooney, Michael; Olsen, James; Piroué, Pierre; Quan, Xiaohang; Saka, Halil; Stickland, David; Tully, Christopher; Werner, Jeremy Scott; Zenz, Seth Conrad; Zuranski, Andrzej; Brownson, Eric; Mendez, Hector; Ramirez Vargas, Juan Eduardo; Alagoz, Enver; Barnes, Virgil E; Benedetti, Daniele; Bolla, Gino; Bortoletto, Daniela; De Mattia, Marco; Hu, Zhen; Jha, Manoj; Jones, Matthew; Jung, Kurt; Kress, Matthew; Leonardo, Nuno; Lopes Pegna, David; Maroussov, Vassili; Merkel, Petra; Miller, David Harry; Neumeister, Norbert; Radburn-Smith, Benjamin Charles; Shi, Xin; Shipsey, Ian; Silvers, David; Svyatkovskiy, Alexey; Wang, Fuqiang; Xie, Wei; Xu, Lingshan; Yoo, Hwi Dong; Zablocki, Jakub; Zheng, Yu; Parashar, Neeti; Stupak, John; Adair, Antony; Akgun, Bora; Ecklund, Karl Matthew; Geurts, Frank JM; Li, Wei; Michlin, Benjamin; Padley, Brian Paul; Redjimi, Radia; Roberts, Jay; Zabel, James; Betchart, Burton; Bodek, Arie; Covarelli, Roberto; de Barbaro, Pawel; Demina, Regina; Eshaq, Yossof; Ferbel, Thomas; Garcia-Bellido, Aran; Goldenzweig, Pablo; Han, Jiyeon; Harel, Amnon; Khukhunaishvili, Aleko; Petrillo, Gianluca; Vishnevskiy, Dmitry; Ciesielski, Robert; Demortier, Luc; Goulianos, Konstantin; Lungu, Gheorghe; Mesropian, Christina; Arora, Sanjay; Barker, Anthony; Chou, John Paul; Contreras-Campana, Christian; Contreras-Campana, Emmanuel; Duggan, Daniel; Ferencek, Dinko; Gershtein, Yuri; Gray, Richard; Halkiadakis, Eva; Hidas, Dean; Lath, Amitabh; Panwalkar, Shruti; Park, Michael; Patel, Rishi; Salur, Sevil; Schnetzer, Steve; Somalwar, Sunil; Stone, Robert; Thomas, Scott; Thomassen, Peter; Walker, Matthew; Rose, Keith; Spanier, Stefan; York, Andrew; Bouhali, Othmane; Eusebi, Ricardo; Flanagan, Will; Gilmore, Jason; Kamon, Teruki; Khotilovich, Vadim; Krutelyov, Vyacheslav; Montalvo, Roy; Osipenkov, Ilya; Pakhotin, Yuriy; Perloff, Alexx; Roe, Jeffrey; Rose, Anthony; Safonov, Alexei; Sakuma, Tai; Suarez, Indara; Tatarinov, Aysen; Akchurin, Nural; Cowden, Christopher; Damgov, Jordan; Dragoiu, Cosmin; Dudero, Phillip Russell; Faulkner, James; Kovitanggoon, Kittikul; Kunori, Shuichi; Lee, Sung Won; Libeiro, Terence; Volobouev, Igor; Appelt, Eric; Delannoy, Andrés G; Greene, Senta; Gurrola, Alfredo; Johns, Willard; Maguire, Charles; Mao, Yaxian; Melo, Andrew; Sharma, Monika; Sheldon, Paul; Snook, Benjamin; Tuo, Shengquan; Velkovska, Julia; Arenton, Michael Wayne; Boutle, Sarah; Cox, Bradley; Francis, Brian; Goodell, Joseph; Hirosky, Robert; Ledovskoy, Alexander; Li, Hengne; Lin, Chuanzhe; Neu, Christopher; Wood, John; Harr, Robert; Karchin, Paul Edmund; Kottachchi Kankanamge Don, Chamath; Lamichhane, Pramod; Sturdy, Jared; Belknap, Donald; Carlsmith, Duncan; Cepeda, Maria; Dasu, Sridhara; Duric, Senka; Friis, Evan; Hall-Wilton, Richard; Herndon, Matthew; Hervé, Alain; Klabbers, Pamela; Lanaro, Armando; Lazaridis, Christos; Levine, Aaron; Loveless, Richard; Mohapatra, Ajit; Ojalvo, Isabel; Perry, Thomas; Pierro, Giuseppe Antonio; Polese, Giovanni; Ross, Ian; Sarangi, Tapas; Savin, Alexander; Smith, Wesley H; Woods, Nathaniel

    2014-11-26

    A search for heavy, right-handed neutrinos, N$_{\\ell}$ ($\\ell$ = e, $\\mu$), and right-handed W$_R$ bosons, which arise in the left-right symmetric extensions of the standard model, has been performed by the CMS experiment. The search was based on a sample of two lepton plus two jet events collected in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{-1}$. No significant excess of events over the standard model expectation is observed. For models with strict left-right symmetry, and assuming only one N$_{\\ell}$ flavor contributes significantly to the W$_R$ decay width, the region in the two-dimensional (M(W$_R$), M(N$_{\\ell}$)) mass plane excluded at a 95% confidence level extends to approximately M(W$_R$) = 3.0 TeV and covers a large range of neutrino masses below the W$_R$ boson mass, depending on the value of M(W$_R$). This search significantly extends the (M(W$_R$), M(N$_{\\ell}$)) exclusion region beyond previous results.

  3. Rubber hand illusion under delayed visual feedback.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sotaro Shimada

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Rubber hand illusion (RHI is a subject's illusion of the self-ownership of a rubber hand that was touched synchronously with their own hand. Although previous studies have confirmed that this illusion disappears when the rubber hand was touched asynchronously with the subject's hand, the minimum temporal discrepancy of these two events for attenuation of RHI has not been examined. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, various temporal discrepancies between visual and tactile stimulations were introduced by using a visual feedback delay experimental setup, and RHI effects in each temporal discrepancy condition were systematically tested. The results showed that subjects felt significantly greater RHI effects with temporal discrepancies of less than 300 ms compared with longer temporal discrepancies. The RHI effects on reaching performance (proprioceptive drift showed similar conditional differences. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results first demonstrated that a temporal discrepancy of less than 300 ms between visual stimulation of the rubber hand and tactile stimulation to the subject's own hand is preferable to induce strong sensation of RHI. We suggest that the time window of less than 300 ms is critical for multi-sensory integration processes constituting the self-body image.

  4. Influence of rub-in technique on required application time and hand coverage in hygienic hand disinfection

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    Feil Yvonne

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent data indicate that full efficacy of a hand rub preparation for hygienic hand disinfection can be achieved within 15 seconds (s. However, the efficacy test used for the European Norm (EN 1500 samples only the fingertips. Therefore, we investigated hand coverage using sixteen different application variations. The hand rub was supplemented with a fluorescent dye, and hands were assessed under UV light by a blind test, before and after application. Fifteen non-healthcare workers were used as subjects for each application variation apart from one test which was done with a group of twenty healthcare workers. All tests apart from the reference procedure were performed using 3 mL of hand rub. The EN 1500 reference procedure, which consists of 6 specific rub-in steps performed twice with an aliquot of 3 ml each time, served as a control. In one part of this study, each of the six steps was performed from one to five times before proceeding to the next step. In another part of the study, the entire sequence of six steps was performed from one to five times. Finally, all subjects were instructed to cover both hands completely, irrespective of any specific steps ("responsible application". Each rub-in technique was evaluated for untreated skin areas. Results The reference procedure lasted on average 75 s and resulted in 53% of subjects with at least one untreated area on the hands. Five repetitions of the rub-in steps lasted on average 37 s with 67% of subjects having incompletely treated hands. One repetition lasted on average 17 s, and all subjects had at least one untreated area. Repeating the sequence of steps lasted longer, but did not yield a better result. "Responsible application" was quite fast, lasting 25 s among non-healthcare worker subjects and 28 s among healthcare workers. It was also effective, with 53% and 55% of hands being incompletely treated. New techniques were as fast and effective as "responsible

  5. The leading hand in bimanual activities - A search for more valid handedness items.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsson, Bo; Kirchengast, Sylvia

    2016-11-01

    The aim of this pilot study is to test a new approach to handedness assessment based on the concept of the leading hand. A well-established graphomotor performance test of handedness (H-D-T) and a new test according on the concept of the leading hand were undertaken by 41 Viennese schoolchildren between 6 and 8 years of age. The new test is based on in vivo observations of bimanual activities. In detail the test battery consisted of 8 fine motor leading hand items. Participants had to open and close four small objects (one tube, three small bottles) in order to observe twisting movements and four small objects (2 matchboxes, 2 small brushes) in order to observe back-and-forth movements. It turned out that the leading hand does not correlate with the hand dominance in a graphomotor test to the degree that the handedness in unimanual items has been found to do and that right leading hand scores in bimanual items are encountered significantly less often than right hand scores in a graphomotor test. The findings of the present study suggest that tests of the leading hand in vivo may contribute to a higher validity of the assessment of handedness in examinations of the lateralization of higher cortical functions.

  6. Are Young People Subjects of Rights or…without rights? Changes in the Contravention System (Cordoba, Argentina

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    Mariana Jesica Lerchundi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This text wants to compare the main differences between the Faults Code and Coexistence Code of the Province of Córdoba (Argentina taking young people as empirical subjects of reflection, which are the most affected by the regulations. From the content analysis and critical discourse analysis, the differences between the two standards were found. Here are detailed only some of them that allow us to infer changes in the penal system maintaining the violation of rights of young people.

  7. Improving hand sensibility in vibration induced neuropathy: A case-series

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    Lundborg Göran

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objectives We report a long-term series of nine workers suffering from vibration-induced neuropathy, after many years of exposure to hand-held vibrating tools at high or low frequency. They were treated with temporary selective cutaneous anaesthesia (EMLA® cream of the forearm repeatedly for a period up to one year (in two cases four years. The aim was to improve their capacity to perceive touch and thereby improve hand function and diminish disability. The treatment principle is based on current concepts of brain plasticity, where a deafferentation of a skin area results in improved sensory function in adjacent skin areas. Methods All participants had sensory hand problems in terms of numbness (median touch thresholds > 70 mg and impaired hand function influencing ADL (mean DASH score 22. After an initial identical self-administered treatment period of 8 weeks (12-15 treatments with increasing intervals they did one treatment every 2-3 month. Results After one year sensibility (touch thresholds and tactile discrimination as well as hand function (mean DASH score 13 were improved in a majority of the cases. Seven of the participants choose to continue the treatment after the first year and two of them have continued at a regular basis for up to four years. A surprising, secondary finding was diminishing nocturnal numbness of the hand and arm in eight of the nine subjects from "frequently" to "hardly ever or never". Conclusions Our observations open new perspectives for treatment of impaired sensibility and hand function in a group of patients with vibration induced hand problems where we have no treatment to offer today.

  8. Impaired hand size estimation in CRPS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peltz, Elena; Seifert, Frank; Lanz, Stefan; Müller, Rüdiger; Maihöfner, Christian

    2011-10-01

    A triad of clinical symptoms, ie, autonomic, motor and sensory dysfunctions, characterizes complex regional pain syndromes (CRPS). Sensory dysfunction comprises sensory loss or spontaneous and stimulus-evoked pain. Furthermore, a disturbance in the body schema may occur. In the present study, patients with CRPS of the upper extremity and healthy controls estimated their hand sizes on the basis of expanded or compressed schematic drawings of hands. In patients with CRPS we found an impairment in accurate hand size estimation; patients estimated their own CRPS-affected hand to be larger than it actually was when measured objectively. Moreover, overestimation correlated significantly with disease duration, neglect score, and increase of two-point-discrimination-thresholds (TPDT) compared to the unaffected hand and to control subjects' estimations. In line with previous functional imaging studies in CRPS patients demonstrating changes in central somatotopic maps, we suggest an involvement of the central nervous system in this disruption of the body schema. Potential cortical areas may be the primary somatosensory and posterior parietal cortices, which have been proposed to play a critical role in integrating visuospatial information. CRPS patients perceive their affected hand to be bigger than it is. The magnitude of this overestimation correlates with disease duration, decreased tactile thresholds, and neglect-score. Suggesting a disrupted body schema as the source of this impairment, our findings corroborate the current assumption of a CNS involvement in CRPS. Copyright © 2011 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Rubber hand illusion induced by touching the face ipsilaterally to a deprived hand: evidence for plastic ‘somatotopic’ remapping in tetraplegics

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    Michele eScandola

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Studies in animals and humans indicate that the interruption of body-brain connections following spinal cord injury (SCI leads to plastic cerebral reorganization.Objective: To explore whether inducing the Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI via synchronous multisensory visuo-tactile bodily stimulation may reveal any perceptual correlates of plastic remapping in SCI.Methods: In 16 paraplegic, 16 tetraplegic and 16 healthy participants we explored whether RHI may be induced by tactile stimuli involving not only the left hand but also the left hemi-face. Touching the participant’s actual hand or face was either synchronous or asynchronous with tactile stimuli seen on a rubber hand. We assessed two components of the illusion, namely perceived changes in the real hand in space (indexed by proprioceptive drift and ownership of the rubber hand (indexed by subjective responses to an ad-hoc questionnaire.Results: Proprioceptive drift and ownership were found in the healthy group only in the condition where the left real and fake hand were touched simultaneously. In contrast, no drift was found in the SCI patients who, however, showed ownership after both synchronous and asynchronous hand stroking. Importantly, only tetraplegics showed the effect also after synchronous face stroking. Conclusions: RHI may reveal plastic phenomena in SCI. In hand representation-deprived tetraplegics, stimuli on the face (represented contiguously in the somatic and motor systems, drive the sense of hand ownership. This hand-face remapping phenomenon may be useful for restoring a sense of self in massively deprived individuals.

  10. Hand grips strength effect on motor function in human brain using fMRI: a pilot study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ismail, S S; Mohamad, M; Syazarina, S O; Nafisah, W Y

    2014-01-01

    Several methods of motor tasks for fMRI scanning have been evolving from simple to more complex tasks. Motor tasks on upper extremity were applied in order to excite the increscent of motor activation on contralesional and ipsilateral hemispheres in brain. The main objective of this study is to study the different conditions for motor tasks on upper extremity that affected the brain activation. Ten healthy right handed with normal vision (3 male and 7 female, age range=20-30 years, mean=24.6 years, SD=2.21) participated in this study. Prior to the scanning, participants were trained on hand grip tasks using rubber ball and pressure gauge tool outside the scanner. During fMRI session, a block design with 30-s task blocks and alternating 30-s rest periods was employed while participants viewed a computer screen via a back projection-mirror system and instructed to follow the instruction by gripping their hand with normal and strong grips using a rubber ball. Statistical Parametric mapping (SPM8) software was used to determine the brain activation. Both tasks activated the primary motor (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA), dorsal and ventral of premotor cortex area (PMA) in left hemisphere while in right hemisphere the area of primary motor (M1) somatosensory was activated. However, the comparison between both tasks revealed that the strong hand grip showed the higher activation at M1, PMA and SMA on left hemisphere and also the area of SMA on right hemisphere. Both conditions of motor tasks could provide insights the functional organization on human brain

  11. Hand grips strength effect on motor function in human brain using fMRI: a pilot study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail, S. S.; Mohamad, M.; Syazarina, S. O.; Nafisah, W. Y.

    2014-11-01

    Several methods of motor tasks for fMRI scanning have been evolving from simple to more complex tasks. Motor tasks on upper extremity were applied in order to excite the increscent of motor activation on contralesional and ipsilateral hemispheres in brain. The main objective of this study is to study the different conditions for motor tasks on upper extremity that affected the brain activation. Ten healthy right handed with normal vision (3 male and 7 female, age range=20-30 years, mean=24.6 years, SD=2.21) participated in this study. Prior to the scanning, participants were trained on hand grip tasks using rubber ball and pressure gauge tool outside the scanner. During fMRI session, a block design with 30-s task blocks and alternating 30-s rest periods was employed while participants viewed a computer screen via a back projection-mirror system and instructed to follow the instruction by gripping their hand with normal and strong grips using a rubber ball. Statistical Parametric mapping (SPM8) software was used to determine the brain activation. Both tasks activated the primary motor (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA), dorsal and ventral of premotor cortex area (PMA) in left hemisphere while in right hemisphere the area of primary motor (M1) somatosensory was activated. However, the comparison between both tasks revealed that the strong hand grip showed the higher activation at M1, PMA and SMA on left hemisphere and also the area of SMA on right hemisphere. Both conditions of motor tasks could provide insights the functional organization on human brain.

  12. Entropic Movement Complexity Reflects Subjective Creativity Rankings of Visualized Hand Motion Trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Zhen; Braun, Daniel A.

    2015-01-01

    In a previous study we have shown that human motion trajectories can be characterized by translating continuous trajectories into symbol sequences with well-defined complexity measures. Here we test the hypothesis that the motion complexity individuals generate in their movements might be correlated to the degree of creativity assigned by a human observer to the visualized motion trajectories. We asked participants to generate 55 novel hand movement patterns in virtual reality, where each pattern had to be repeated 10 times in a row to ensure reproducibility. This allowed us to estimate a probability distribution over trajectories for each pattern. We assessed motion complexity not only by the previously proposed complexity measures on symbolic sequences, but we also propose two novel complexity measures that can be directly applied to the distributions over trajectories based on the frameworks of Gaussian Processes and Probabilistic Movement Primitives. In contrast to previous studies, these new methods allow computing complexities of individual motion patterns from very few sample trajectories. We compared the different complexity measures to how a group of independent jurors rank ordered the recorded motion trajectories according to their personal creativity judgment. We found three entropic complexity measures that correlate significantly with human creativity judgment and discuss differences between the measures. We also test whether these complexity measures correlate with individual creativity in divergent thinking tasks, but do not find any consistent correlation. Our results suggest that entropic complexity measures of hand motion may reveal domain-specific individual differences in kinesthetic creativity. PMID:26733896

  13. Resonant slepton production and right sneutrino dark matter in left-right supersymmetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, Mariana; Fuks, Benjamin; Huitu, Katri; Rai, Santosh Kumar; Waltari, Harri

    2017-05-01

    Right-handed sneutrinos are natural components of left-right symmetric supersymmetric models where the gauge sector is extended to include right-handed weak interactions. Unlike in other models where right-handed sneutrinos are gauge singlets, here the right sneutrino is part of a doublet and could be a dark matter candidate whose annihilation proceeds via gauge interactions. We investigate this possibility, and find that relic density, low-energy observable and direct supersymmetry search constraints can be satisfied when the lightest supersymmetric particle is a right-handed sneutrino. We introduce benchmarks for left-right supersymmetric realizations where either a sneutrino or a neutralino is the lightest superpartner. We then study the LHC signals arising through resonant right-handed slepton production via a W R gauge-boson exchange that lead to final states enriched in leptons, additionally containing a large amount of missing transverse momentum, and featuring a low jet multiplicity. We find that such a resonant production would boost the chances of discovering these weakly interacting supersymmetric particles for a mass range extending beyond 1 TeV already with a luminosity of 100 fb-1. Finally, we compare sneutrino versus neutralino scenarios, and comment on differences with other sneutrino dark matter models.

  14. Resonant slepton production and right sneutrino dark matter in left-right supersymmetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frank, Mariana; Fuks, Benjamin; Huitu, Katri; Rai, Santosh Kumar; Waltari, Harri

    2017-01-01

    Right-handed sneutrinos are natural components of left-right symmetric supersymmetric models where the gauge sector is extended to include right-handed weak interactions. Unlike in other models where right-handed sneutrinos are gauge singlets, here the right sneutrino is part of a doublet and could be a dark matter candidate whose annihilation proceeds via gauge interactions. We investigate this possibility, and find that relic density, low-energy observable and direct supersymmetry search constraints can be satisfied when the lightest supersymmetric particle is a right-handed sneutrino. We introduce benchmarks for left-right supersymmetric realizations where either a sneutrino or a neutralino is the lightest superpartner. We then study the LHC signals arising through resonant right-handed slepton production via a W R gauge-boson exchange that lead to final states enriched in leptons, additionally containing a large amount of missing transverse momentum, and featuring a low jet multiplicity. We find that such a resonant production would boost the chances of discovering these weakly interacting supersymmetric particles for a mass range extending beyond 1 TeV already with a luminosity of 100 fb −1 . Finally, we compare sneutrino versus neutralino scenarios, and comment on differences with other sneutrino dark matter models.

  15. Unified scenario for composite right-handed neutrinos and dark matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davoudiasl, Hooman; Giardino, Pier Paolo; Neil, Ethan T.; Rinaldi, Enrico

    2017-12-01

    We entertain the possibility that neutrino masses and dark matter (DM) originate from a common composite dark sector. A minimal effective theory can be constructed based on a dark S U (3 )D interaction with three flavors of massless dark quarks; electroweak symmetry breaking gives masses to the dark quarks. By assigning a Z2 charge to one flavor, a stable "dark kaon" can provide a good thermal relic DM candidate. We find that "dark neutrons" may be identified as right handed Dirac neutrinos. Some level of "neutron-anti-neutron" oscillation in the dark sector can then result in non-zero Majorana masses for light standard model neutrinos. A simple ultraviolet completion is presented, involving additional heavy S U (3 )D-charged particles with electroweak and lepton Yukawa couplings. At our benchmark point, there are "dark pions" that are much lighter than the Higgs and we expect spectacular collider signals arising from the UV framework. This includes the decay of the Higgs boson to τ τ ℓℓ', where ℓ(ℓ') can be any lepton, with displaced vertices. We discuss the observational signatures of this UV framework in dark matter searches and primordial gravitational wave experiments; the latter signature is potentially correlated with the H →τ τ ℓℓ' decay.

  16. Design and Development of a Bilateral Therapeutic Hand Device for Stroke Rehabilitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akhlaquor Rahman

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The major cause of disability is stroke. It is the second highest cause of death after coronary heart disease in Australia. In this paper, a post stroke therapeutic device has been designed and developed for hand motor function rehabilitation that a stroke survivor can use for bilateral movement practice. A prototype of the device was fabricated that can fully flex and extend metacarpophalangeal (MCP, proximal interphalangeal (PIP and distal interphalangeal (DIP joints of the fingers, and interphalangeal (IP, metacarpophalangeal (MCP and trapeziometacarpal (IM joints of the thumb of the left hand (impaired hand, based on movements of the right hand's (healthy hand fingers. Out of 21 degrees of freedom (DOFs of hand fingers, the prototype of the hand exoskeleton allowed fifteen degrees of freedom (DOFs, with three degrees of freedom (DOFs for each finger and three degrees of freedom (DOFs for the thumb. In addition, testing of the device on a healthy subject was conducted to validate the design requirements.

  17. Improving subject recruitment, retention, and participation in research through Peplau's theory of interpersonal relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penckofer, Sue; Byrn, Mary; Mumby, Patricia; Ferrans, Carol Estwing

    2011-04-01

    Recruitment and retention of persons participating in research is one of the most significant challenges faced by investigators. Although incentives are often used to improve recruitment and retention, evidence suggests that the relationship of the patient to study personnel may be the single, most important factor in subject accrual and continued participation. Peplau's theory of interpersonal relations provides a framework to study the nurse-patient relationship during the research process. In this paper the authors provide a brief summary of research strategies that have been used for the recruitment and retention of subjects and an overview of Peplau's theory of interpersonal relations including its use in research studies. In addition, a discussion of how this theory was used for the successful recruitment and retention of women with type 2 diabetes who participated in a clinical trial using a nurse-delivered psychoeducational intervention for depression is addressed.

  18. Acute immobilisation facilitates premotor preparatory activity for the non-restrained hand when facing grasp affordances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kühn, Simone; Werner, Anika; Lindenberger, Ulman; Verrel, Julius

    2014-05-15

    Use and non-use of body parts during goal-directed action are major forces driving reorganisation of neural processing. We investigated changes in functional brain activity resulting from acute short-term immobilisation of the dominant right hand. Informed by the concept of object affordances, we predicted that the presence or absence of a limb restraint would influence the perception of graspable objects in a laterally specific way. Twenty-three participants underwent fMRI scanning during a passive object-viewing task before the intervention as well as with and without wearing an orthosis. The right dorsal premotor cortex and the left cerebellum were more strongly activated when the handle of an object was oriented towards the left hand while the right hand was immobilised compared with a situation where the hand was not immobilised. The cluster in the premotor cortex showing an interaction between condition (with restraint, without restraint) and stimulus action side (right vs. left) overlapped with the general task vs. baseline contrast prior to the intervention, confirming its functional significance for the task. These results show that acute immobilisation of the dominant right hand leads to rapid changes of the perceived affordance of objects. We conclude that changes in action requirements lead to almost instantaneous changes in functional activation patterns, which in turn may trigger structural cortical plasticity. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Reorganization of the Human Somatosensory Cortex in Hand Dystonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Jose Catalan

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Background and Purpose: Abnormalities of finger representations in the somatosensory cortex have been identified in patients with focal hand dystonia. Measuring blood flow with positron emission tomography (PET can be use to demonstrate functional localization of receptive fields. Methods: A vibratory stimulus was applied to the right thumb and little finger of six healthy volunteers and six patients with focal hand dystonia to map their receptive fields using H215O PET. Results: The cortical finger representations in the primary somatosensory cortex were closer to each other in patients than in normal subjects. No abnormalities were found in secondary somatosensory cortex, but the somatotopy there is less well distinguished. Conclusions: These data confirm prior electrophysiological and functional neuroimaging observations showing abnormalities of finger representations in somatosensory cortex of patients with focal hand dystonia.

  20. Left neglected, but only in far space: Spatial biases in healthy participants revealed in a visually-guided grasping task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalie ede Bruin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Hemispatial neglect is a common outcome of stroke that is characterised by the inability to orient towards, and attend to stimuli in contralesional space. It is established that hemispatial neglect has a perceptual component, however, the presence and severity of motor impairments is controversial. Establishing the nature of space use and spatial biases during visually-guided actions amongst healthy individuals is critical to understanding the presence of visuomotor deficits in patients with neglect. Accordingly, three experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of object spatial location on patterns of grasping. Experiment 1 required right-handed participants to reach and grasp for blocks in order to construct 3D models. The blocks were scattered on a tabletop divided into equal size quadrants: left near, left far, right near, and right far. Identical sets of building blocks were available in each quadrant. Space use was dynamic, with participants initially grasping blocks from right near space and tending to ‘neglect’ left far space until the final stages of the task. Experiment 2 repeated the protocol with left-handed participants. Remarkably, left-handed participants displayed a similar pattern of space use to right-handed participants. In Experiment 3 eye movements were examined to investigate whether ‘neglect’ for grasping in left far reachable space had its origins in attentional biases. It was found that patterns of eye movements mirrored patterns of reach-to-grasp movements. We conclude that there are spatial biases during visually-guided grasping, specifically, a tendency to neglect left far reachable space, and that this ‘neglect’ is attentional in origin. The results raise the possibility that visuomotor impairments reported among patients with right hemisphere lesions when working in contralesional space may result in part from this inherent tendency to ‘neglect’ left far space irrespective of the presence

  1. Effects of age, sex and arm on the precision of arm position sense-left-arm superiority in healthy right-handers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Lena; Depper, Lena; Kerkhoff, Georg

    2013-01-01

    Position sense is an important proprioceptive ability. Disorders of arm position sense (APS) often occur after unilateral stroke, and are associated with a negative functional outcome. In the present study we assessed horizontal APS by measuring angular deviations from a visually defined target separately for each arm in a large group of healthy subjects. We analyzed the accuracy and instability of horizontal APS as a function of age, sex and arm. Subjects were required to specify verbally the position of their unseen arm on a 0-90° circuit by comparing the current position with the target position indicated by a LED lamp, while the arm was passively moved by the examiner. Eighty-seven healthy subjects participated in the study, ranging from 20 to 77 years, subdivided into three age groups. The results revealed that APS was not a function of age or sex, but was significantly better in the non-dominant (left) arm in absolute errors (AE) but not in constant errors (CE) across all age groups of right-handed healthy subjects. This indicates a right-hemisphere superiority for left APS in right-handers and neatly fits to the more frequent and more severe left-sided body-related deficits in patients with unilateral stroke (i.e. impaired APS in left spatial neglect, somatoparaphrenia) or in individuals with abnormalities of the right cerebral hemisphere. These clinical issues will be discussed.

  2. A natural approach to convey numerical digits using hand activity recognition based on hand shape features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chidananda, H.; Reddy, T. Hanumantha

    2017-06-01

    This paper presents a natural representation of numerical digit(s) using hand activity analysis based on number of fingers out stretched for each numerical digit in sequence extracted from a video. The analysis is based on determining a set of six features from a hand image. The most important features used from each frame in a video are the first fingertip from top, palm-line, palm-center, valley points between the fingers exists above the palm-line. Using this work user can convey any number of numerical digits using right or left or both the hands naturally in a video. Each numerical digit ranges from 0 to9. Hands (right/left/both) used to convey digits can be recognized accurately using the valley points and with this recognition whether the user is a right / left handed person in practice can be analyzed. In this work, first the hand(s) and face parts are detected by using YCbCr color space and face part is removed by using ellipse based method. Then, the hand(s) are analyzed to recognize the activity that represents a series of numerical digits in a video. This work uses pixel continuity algorithm using 2D coordinate geometry system and does not use regular use of calculus, contours, convex hull and datasets.

  3. Ipsilesional motor-evoked potential absence in pediatric hemiparesis impacts tracking accuracy of the less affected hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassidy, Jessica M; Carey, James R; Lu, Chiahao; Krach, Linda E; Feyma, Tim; Durfee, William K; Gillick, Bernadette T

    2015-12-01

    This study analyzed the relationship between electrophysiological responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), finger tracking accuracy, and volume of neural substrate in children with congenital hemiparesis. Nineteen participants demonstrating an ipsilesional motor-evoked potential (MEP) were compared with eleven participants showing an absent ipsilesional MEP response. Comparisons of finger tracking accuracy from the affected and less affected hands and ipsilesional/contralesional (I/C) volume ratio for the primary motor cortex (M1) and posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) were done using two-sample t-tests. Participants showing an ipsilesional MEP response demonstrated superior tracking performance from the less affected hand (p=0.016) and significantly higher I/C volume ratios for M1 (p=0.028) and PLIC (p=0.005) compared to participants without an ipsilesional MEP response. Group differences in finger tracking accuracy from the affected hand were not significant. These results highlight differentiating factors amongst children with congenital hemiparesis showing contrasting MEP responses: less affected hand performance and preserved M1 and PLIC volume. Along with MEP status, these factors pose important clinical implications in pediatric stroke rehabilitation. These findings may also reflect competitive developmental processes associated with the preservation of affected hand function at the expense of some function in the less affected hand. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Toddler hand preference trajectories predict 3-year language outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Eliza L; Gonzalez, Sandy L; Coxe, Stefany; Campbell, Julie M; Marcinowski, Emily C; Michel, George F

    2017-11-01

    A growing body of work suggests that early motor experience affects development in unexpected domains. In the current study, children's hand preference for role-differentiated bimanual manipulation (RDBM) was measured at monthly intervals from 18 to 24 months of age (N = 90). At 3 years of age, children's language ability was assessed using the Preschool Language Scales 5th edition (PLS™-5). Three distinct RDBM hand preference trajectories were identified using latent class growth analysis: (1) children with a left hand preference but a moderate amount of right hand use; (2) children with a right hand preference but a moderate amount of left hand use; and (3) children with a right hand preference and only a mild amount of left hand use. Stability over time within all three trajectories indicated that children did not change hand use patterns from 18 to 24 months. Children with the greatest amount of preferred (i.e., right) hand use demonstrated higher expressive language scores compared to children in both trajectories with moderate levels of non-preferred hand use. Children with the greatest amount of right hand use also had higher scores for receptive language compared to children with a right hand preference but moderate left hand use. Results support that consistency in handedness as measured by the amount of preferred hand use is related to distal language outcomes in development. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Large νμ-ντ mixing and the structure of right-handed Majorana mass matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuda, Masahisa

    1993-01-01

    Recent solar neutrino and atmospheric neutrino experiment suggest the existence of the large lepton mixing among 2nd and 3rd generation neutrino. This fact gives the important information on the structure of right-handed Majorana neutrino. It is shown that, if we assume that the neutrino Dirac mass matrix is similar to the mass matrix of the up-quark sector, the large lepton mixing among the 2nd and the 3rd generation requires the hierarchical structure of the Majorana mass matrix. This model-independent analyses serve the model-building of the mass matrices based on the quark-lepton unified theory. (author)

  6. New constraints on the 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Vega, B. L.; Schmitz, E. R.; Montero, J. C.

    2018-02-01

    In the framework of a 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos and three scalar triplets we consider different spontaneous symmetry breaking patterns seeking for a non-linear realization of accidental symmetries of the model, which will produce physical Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons in the neutral scalar spectrum. We make a detailed study of the safety of the model concerning the NG boson emission in energy-loss processes which could affect the standard evolution of astrophysical objects. We consider the model with a Z_2 symmetry, conventionally used in the literature, finding that in all of the symmetry breaking patterns the model is excluded. Additionally, looking for solutions for that problem, we introduce soft Z_2-breaking terms in the scalar potential in order to remove the extra accidental symmetries and at the same time maintain the model as simple as possible. We find that there is only one soft Z_2-breaking term that enables us to get rid of the problematic NG bosons.

  7. Improved Hand Hygiene Compliance is Associated with the Change of Perception toward Hand Hygiene among Medical Personnel

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, Seung Soon; Park, Se Jeong; Chung, Moon Joo; Lee, Ju Hee; Kang, Hyun Joo; Lee, Jeong-a; Kim, Yong Kyun

    2014-01-01

    Background Hand hygiene compliance has improved significantly through hand hygiene promotion programs that have included poster campaign, monitoring and performance feedback, and education with special attentions to perceived subjective norms. We investigated factors associated with improved hand hygiene compliance, focusing on whether the improvement of hand hygiene compliance is associated with changed perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. Materials and Methods Hand hygien...

  8. Regular use of a hand cream can attenuate skin dryness and roughness caused by frequent hand washing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kampf Günter

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Aim of the study was to determine the effect of the regular use of a hand cream after washing hands on skin hydration and skin roughness. Methods Twenty-five subjects washed hands and forearms with a neutral soap four times per day, for 2 minutes each time, for a total of two weeks. One part of them used a hand cream after each hand wash, the others did not (cross over design after a wash out period of two weeks. Skin roughness and skin hydration were determined on the forearms on days 2, 7, 9 and 14. For skin roughness, twelve silicon imprint per subject and time point were taken from the stratum corneum and assessed with a 3D skin analyzer for depth of the skin relief. For skin hydration, five measurements per subject and time point were taken with a corneometer. Results Washing hands lead to a gradual increase of skin roughness from 100 (baseline to a maximum of 108.5 after 9 days. Use of a hand cream after each hand wash entailed a decrease of skin roughness which the lowest means after 2 (94.5 and 14 days (94.8. Skin hydration was gradually decreased after washing hands from 79 (baseline to 65.5 after 14 days. The hand wash, followed by use of a hand cream, still decreased skin hydration after 2 days (76.1. Over the next 12 days, however, skin hydration did not change significantly (75.6 after 14 days. Conclusion Repetitive and frequent hand washing increases skin dryness and roughness. Use of a hand cream immediately after each hand wash can confine both skin dryness and skin roughness. Regular use of skin care preparations should therefore help to prevent both dry and rough skin among healthcare workers in clinical practice.

  9. Why Workers’ Rights Are Not Women’s Rights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidi Gottfried

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available “Why workers’ rights are not women’s rights” is an argument whose purpose is to make clear why workers’ rights rest on a masculine embodiment of the labor subject and it is this masculine embodiment which is at the center of employment contracts and employment relations systems. By excavating the gender subjects implicit to and explicit in regulations of labor, the paper reveals the opposition of paired terms, masculinity and femininity privileging production over reproduction and naturalizing gender-based power relations. The paper identifies various laboring activities associated with differential rights and responsibilities. An examination of the treatment of part-time employment and waged caring labor, framed in labor, welfare, immigration, and citizenship policies and practices, locates exclusions from labor standards and exemptions from entitlements due to eligibility requirements and thresholds that assume the masculine embodiment of the worker-citizen. Gendering the analysis illustrates how contemporary labor laws and conventions grant rights on the basis of, and to, a rather abstract conception of the prototypical worker-citizen. Its origins lie in what classical political economy labeled a capitalist logic, as well as the historical practices in which free class agents entered into contracts for continuous, full-time work free of care responsibilities outside of the wage/labor nexus. Thus, it is this particular abstract construction of the proto-typical worker which instantiates the separation of “rights to” from “responsibilities for”, and it is this separation that allows the masculine embodiment of the labor subject. Modes of regulation privileging rights over responsibilities will valorize the masculine worker-citizen whose rights derive from their participation in wage labor and simultaneously devalue the feminine worker who is directly connected to caring labor.

  10. Higher-order cognitive factors affect subjective but not proprioceptive aspects of self-representation in the rubber hand illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dempsey-Jones, Harriet; Kritikos, Ada

    2014-05-01

    In the current study we look at whether subjective and proprioceptive aspects of selfrepresentation are separable components subserved by distinct systems of multisensory integration. We used the rubber hand illusion (RHI) to draw the location of the 'self' away from the body, towards extracorporeal space (Out Condition), thereby violating top-down information about the body location. This was compared with the traditional RHI which drew position of the 'self' towards the body (In Condition). We were successfully able to draw proprioceptive position of the limbs in and out from the body suggesting body perception is a purely bottom-up process, resistant to top-down effects. Conversely, we found subjective self-representation was altered by the violation of top-down body information - as the strong association of subjective and proprioceptive factors found in the In Condition became non-significant in the Out Condition. Interestingly, we also found evidence that subjective embodiment can modulate tactile perception. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  11. The sound of one-hand clapping: handedness and perisylvian neural correlates of a communicative gesture in chimpanzees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meguerditchian, Adrien; Gardner, Molly J; Schapiro, Steven J; Hopkins, William D

    2012-05-22

    Whether lateralization of communicative signalling in non-human primates might constitute prerequisites of hemispheric specialization for language is unclear. In the present study, we examined (i) hand preference for a communicative gesture (clapping in 94 captive chimpanzees from two research facilities) and (ii) the in vivo magnetic resonance imaging brain scans of 40 of these individuals. The preferred hand for clapping was defined as the one in the upper position when the two hands came together. Using computer manual tracing of regions of interest, we measured the neuroanatomical asymmetries for the homologues of key language areas, including the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and planum temporale (PT). When considering the entire sample, there was a predominance of right-handedness for clapping and the distribution of right- and left-handed individuals did not differ between the two facilities. The direction of hand preference (right- versus left-handed subjects) for clapping explained a significant portion of variability in asymmetries of the PT and IFG. The results are consistent with the view that gestural communication in the common ancestor may have been a precursor of language and its cerebral substrates in modern humans.

  12. Predicting and explaining behavioral intention and hand sanitizer use among US Army soldiers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Naiqing; Roberts, Kevin R

    2017-04-01

    Using hand sanitizers can reduce bacterial contamination and is an efficient and inexpensive method of preventing infections. The purpose of this study was to explore the behavioral intention (low and absolute), attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of hand sanitizer use among US Army soldiers. A questionnaire was developed following an expert panel (N = 5) review and 2 pilot studies (N = 35) to ensure questionnaire validity and clarity. Surveys were distributed among nontrainee soldiers during lunch periods. A total of 201 surveys were collected. Results indicated that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls explained 64% of the variance in behavioral intention. Attitude remained the strongest predictor of behavior (β = 0.70, P hand sanitizers hold significantly different behavioral and normative beliefs than low intenders. Other soldiers create negative social pressure about using hand sanitizers, indicating that if other soldiers use hand sanitizers, they will refuse to do so. Intervention to ensure use of hand sanitizer should focus on strengthening behavioral and normative beliefs among low intenders. This should increase the overall well being of the military. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Conceptual distortions of hand structure are robust to changes in stimulus information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambroziak, Klaudia B; Tamè, Luigi; Longo, Matthew R

    2018-05-01

    Previous studies showed stereotyped distortions in hand representations. People judge their knuckles as farther forward in the hand than they actually are. The cause of this bias remains unclear. We tested whether both visual and tactile information contribute to the bias. In Experiment 1, participants judged the location of their knuckles by pointing to the location on their palm with: (1) a metal baton (using vision and touch), (2) a metal baton while blindfolded (using touch), or (3) a laser pointer (using vision). Distal mislocalisations were found in all conditions. In Experiment 2, we investigated whether judgments are influenced by visual landmarks such as creases. Participants localized their knuckles on either a photograph of their palm or a silhouette. Distal mislocalisations were apparent in both conditions. These results show that distal biases are resistant to changes in stimulus information, suggesting that such mislocalisations reflect a conceptual mis-representation of hand structure. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Hysteresis of haptic vertical and straight ahead in healthy human subjects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tarnutzer Alexander A

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The subjective haptic vertical (SHV task requires subjects to adjust the roll orientation of an object, mostly in the roll plane, in such a way that it is parallel to perceived direction of gravity. Previously we found a tendency for clockwise rod rotations to deviate counter-clockwise and vice versa, indicating hysteresis. However, the contributing factors remained unclear. To clarify this we characterized the SHV in terms of handedness, hand used, direction of hand rotation, type of grasping (wrap vs. precision grip and gender, and compared findings with perceived straight-ahead (PSA. Healthy subjects repetitively performed adjustments along SHV (n = 21 and PSA (n = 10 in complete darkness. Results For both SHV and PSA significant effects of the hand used and the direction of rod/plate rotation were found. The latter effect was similar for SHV and PSA, leading to significantly larger counter-clockwise shifts (relative to true earth-vertical and objective straight-ahead for clockwise rotations compared to counter-clockwise rotations irrespective of the handedness and the type of grip. The effect of hand used, however, was opposite in the two tasks: while the SHV showed a counter-clockwise bias when the right hand was used and no bias for the left hand, in the PSA a counter-clockwise bias was obtained for the left hand without a bias for the right hand. No effects of grip and handedness (studied for SHV only on accuracy were observed, however, SHV precision was significantly (p  Conclusions Unimanual haptic tasks require control for the hand used and the type of grip as these factors significantly affect task performance. Furthermore, aligning objects with the SHV and PSA resulted in systematic direction-dependent deviations that could not be attributed to handedness, the hand used, or the type of grip. These deviations are consistent with hysteresis and are likely not related to gravitational pull, as they were

  15. High-precision measurement of the 19Ne half-life and implications for right-handed weak currents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triambak, S; Finlay, P; Sumithrarachchi, C S; Hackman, G; Ball, G C; Garrett, P E; Svensson, C E; Cross, D S; Garnsworthy, A B; Kshetri, R; Orce, J N; Pearson, M R; Tardiff, E R; Al-Falou, H; Austin, R A E; Churchman, R; Djongolov, M K; D'Entremont, R; Kierans, C; Milovanovic, L; O'Hagan, S; Reeve, S; Sjue, S K L; Williams, S J

    2012-07-27

    We report a precise determination of the (19)Ne half-life to be T(1/2)=17.262±0.007 s. This result disagrees with the most recent precision measurements and is important for placing bounds on predicted right-handed interactions that are absent in the current standard model. We are able to identify and disentangle two competing systematic effects that influence the accuracy of such measurements. Our findings prompt a reassessment of results from previous high-precision lifetime measurements that used similar equipment and methods.

  16. High-Precision Measurement of the Ne19 Half-Life and Implications for Right-Handed Weak Currents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triambak, S.; Finlay, P.; Sumithrarachchi, C. S.; Hackman, G.; Ball, G. C.; Garrett, P. E.; Svensson, C. E.; Cross, D. S.; Garnsworthy, A. B.; Kshetri, R.; Orce, J. N.; Pearson, M. R.; Tardiff, E. R.; Al-Falou, H.; Austin, R. A. E.; Churchman, R.; Djongolov, M. K.; D'Entremont, R.; Kierans, C.; Milovanovic, L.; O'Hagan, S.; Reeve, S.; Sjue, S. K. L.; Williams, S. J.

    2012-07-01

    We report a precise determination of the Ne19 half-life to be T1/2=17.262±0.007s. This result disagrees with the most recent precision measurements and is important for placing bounds on predicted right-handed interactions that are absent in the current standard model. We are able to identify and disentangle two competing systematic effects that influence the accuracy of such measurements. Our findings prompt a reassessment of results from previous high-precision lifetime measurements that used similar equipment and methods.

  17. Enhanced Motor Imagery-Based BCI Performance via Tactile Stimulation on Unilateral Hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaokang Shu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Brain-computer interface (BCI has attracted great interests for its effectiveness in assisting disabled people. However, due to the poor BCI performance, this technique is still far from daily-life applications. One of critical issues confronting BCI research is how to enhance BCI performance. This study aimed at improving the motor imagery (MI based BCI accuracy by integrating MI tasks with unilateral tactile stimulation (Uni-TS. The effects were tested on both healthy subjects and stroke patients in a controlled study. Twenty-two healthy subjects and four stroke patients were recruited and randomly divided into a control-group and an enhanced-group. In the control-group, subjects performed two blocks of conventional MI tasks (left hand vs. right hand, with 80 trials in each block. In the enhanced-group, subjects also performed two blocks of MI tasks, but constant tactile stimulation was applied on the non-dominant/paretic hand during MI tasks in the second block. We found the Uni-TS significantly enhanced the contralateral cortical activations during MI of the stimulated hand, whereas it had no influence on activation patterns during MI of the non-stimulated hand. The two-class BCI decoding accuracy was significantly increased from 72.5% (MI without Uni-TS to 84.7% (MI with Uni-TS in the enhanced-group (p < 0.001, paired t-test. Moreover, stroke patients in the enhanced-group achieved an accuracy >80% during MI with Uni-TS. This novel approach complements the conventional methods for BCI enhancement without increasing source information or complexity of signal processing. This enhancement via Uni-TS may facilitate clinical applications of MI-BCI.

  18. Patient empowerment and hand hygiene, 1997-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGuckin, M; Govednik, J

    2013-07-01

    Multi-modal hand hygiene programmes that include patient empowerment are promoted as a necessary component of hand hygiene compliance. However, the question still remains, do we have enough information to determine if, and under what conditions, patients will be able to play an immediate role in healthcare workers' hand hygiene behaviour? To review the current literature on patient willingness to be empowered, barriers to empowerment, and hand hygiene programmes that include patient empowerment and hand hygiene improvement. A Medline (Ovid) search of all English-language papers for 1997-2007 and 2008-2012 was conducted using the following keywords alone and in various combinations: 'patient participation', 'involvement', 'empowerment', 'education', 'decision-making', 'professional-patient relations', 'behavioural change', 'culture of safety', 'social marketing', 'consumer awareness', 'leadership', 'institutional climate', 'hand hygiene' and 'patient reminders'. The 1997-2007 review was conducted as part of the World Health Organization's Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care, and updated with the 2008-2012 review. Several studies show that, in principle, patients are willing to be empowered. However, there is variation in the actual number of patients that practice empowerment for hand hygiene, ranging from 5% to 80%. The actual performance of patient empowerment can be increased when a patient is given explicit permission by a healthcare worker. There is ongoing support from patients that they are willing to be empowered. There is a need to develop programmes that empower both healthcare workers and patients so that they become more comfortable in their roles. Copyright © 2013 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Autogenic Training and Hand Temperature Biofeedback in the Treatment of Migraine: A Preliminary Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jessup, B.; And Others

    The possibility of alleviating migraine headaches by autogenic relaxation training, with or without hand temperature biofeedback, was assessed. The study examined five independent groups in a bi-directional control group design. Volunteer migraine sufferers served as subjects, each participating for 12 weeks. The first four weeks of the study were…

  20. Giving cognition a helping hand: the effect of congruent gestures on object name retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pine, Karen J; Reeves, Lindsey; Howlett, Neil; Fletcher, Ben C

    2013-02-01

    The gestures that accompany speech are more than just arbitrary hand movements or communicative devices. They are simulated actions that can both prime and facilitate speech and cognition. This study measured participants' reaction times for naming degraded images of objects when simultaneously adopting a gesture that was either congruent with the target object, incongruent with it, and when not making any hand gesture. A within-subjects design was used, with participants (N= 122) naming 10 objects under each condition. Participants named the objects significantly faster when adopting a congruent gesture than when not gesturing at all. Adopting an incongruent gesture resulted in significantly slower naming times. The findings are discussed in the context of the intrapersonal cognitive and facilitatory effects of gestures and underline the relatedness between language, action, and cognition. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

  1. A demonstration of the transition from ready-to-hand to unready-to-hand.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dobromir G Dotov

    Full Text Available The ideas of continental philosopher Martin Heidegger have been influential in cognitive science and artificial intelligence, despite the fact that there has been no effort to analyze these ideas empirically. The experiments reported here are designed to lend empirical support to Heidegger's phenomenology and more specifically his description of the transition between ready-to-hand and unready-to-hand modes in interactions with tools. In experiment 1, we found that a smoothly coping cognitive system exhibits type positively correlated noise and that its correlated character is reduced when the system is perturbed. This indicates that the participant and tool constitute a self-assembled, extended device during smooth coping and this device is disrupted by the perturbation. In experiment 2, we examine the re-organization of awareness that occurs when a smoothly coping, self-assembled, extended cognitive system is perturbed. We found that the disruption is accompanied by a change in attention which interferes with participants' performance on a simultaneous cognitive task. Together these experiments show that a smoothly coping participant-tool system can be temporarily disrupted and that this disruption causes a change in the participant's awareness. Since these two events follow as predictions from Heidegger's work, our study offers evidence for the hypothesized transition from readiness-to-hand to unreadiness-to-hand.

  2. Birth order, sibling sex ratio, handedness, and sexual orientation of male and female participants in a BBC internet research project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blanchard, Ray; Lippa, Richard A

    2007-04-01

    This study investigated the relations among sexual orientation, fraternal birth order (number of older brothers), and hand-preference. The participants were 87,798 men and 71,981 women who took part in a Web-based research project sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The results yielded some evidence confirming prior findings that non-right-handedness is associated with homosexuality in men and women, that older brothers increase the odds of homosexuality in men, and that the effect of older brothers on sexual orientation is limited to right-handed men. The evidence was weaker than in previous studies, however, probably because the usual relations among the variables of interest were partially obscured by the effects of other factors. Thus, the homosexual men and women had higher rates of non-right-handedness than their heterosexual counterparts, but the strongest handedness finding for both sexes was a marked tendency for participants who described themselves as ambidextrous also to describe themselves as bisexual. The birth order data were strongly affected by a tendency for the male participants to report an excess of older sisters, and the female participants to report an excess of older brothers. Statistical analyses confirmed that this was an artifact of the parental stopping rule, "Continue having children until you have offspring of both sexes." In subsequent analyses, participants were divided into those who did and did not have younger siblings, on the grounds that the data of the former would be less contaminated by the stopping rule. In the former subsample, the right-handed homo/bisexual males showed the typical high ratio of older brothers to older sisters, whereas the non-right-handed homo/bisexual males did not.

  3. From Reproductive Rights to Responsibilization: Fashioning Liberal Subjects in Mexico City's New Public Sector Abortion Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singer, Elyse Ona

    2017-12-01

    Building on medical anthropology literature that analyzes doctor-patient interactions as a charged site for the production of political subjectivities, I demonstrate how a central feature of Mexico City's new public sector abortion program involves "responsibilization." In accordance with entrenched Ministry of Health objectives, providers transmit a suite of values about personal responsibility and self-regulation through the use of birth control, hinging abortion rights to responsible reproductive subjectivity. Based on 18 months of ethnographic research across program clinics, including 75 interviews with patients and providers, I show how interrupción legal del embarazo protocols fashion "responsibilized" liberal subjects. I argue that the recent granting of abortion rights in Mexico City-ostensibly a new moment for the construction of women's citizenship-instead reflects and extends long-standing state agendas of "reproductive governance." My analysis of reproductive rights as the newest framing of ongoing population policies in Mexico adds to a critical anthropology of human rights and of liberal projects of governance. © 2016 by the American Anthropological Association.

  4. The Effect of Hand Dimensions, Hand Shape and Some Anthropometric Characteristics on Handgrip Strength in Male Grip Athletes and Non-Athletes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fallahi, Ali Asghar; Jadidian, Ali Akbar

    2011-01-01

    It has been suggested that athletes with longer fingers and larger hand surfaces enjoy stronger grip power. Therefore, some researchers have examined a number of factors and anthropometric variables that explain this issue. To our knowledge, the data is scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hand dimensions, hand shape and some anthropometric characteristics on handgrip strength in male grip athletes and non-athletes. 80 subjects aged between 19 and 29 participated in this study in two groups including: national and collegian grip athletes (n=40), and non-athletes (n=40). Body height and mass were measured to calculate body mass index. The shape of the dominant hand was drawn on a piece of paper with a thin marker so that finger spans, finger lengths, and perimeters of the hand could be measured. The hand shape was estimated as the ratio of the hand width to hand length. Handgrip strength was measured in the dominant and non-dominant hand using a standard dynamometer. Descriptive statistics were used for each variable and independent t test was used to analyze the differences between the two groups. The Pearson correlation coefficient test was used to evaluate the correlation between studied variables. Also, to predict important variables in handgrip strength, the linear trend was assessed using a linear regression analysis. There was a significant difference between the two groups in absolute handgrip strength (p0.05) were significantly different between the groups (ptalent identification in handgrip-related sports and in clinical settings as well. PMID:23486361

  5. Advanced Myoelectric Control for Robotic Hand-Assisted Training: Outcome from a Stroke Patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Zhiyuan; Tong, Kai-Yu; Shin, Henry; Li, Sheng; Zhou, Ping

    2017-01-01

    A hand exoskeleton driven by myoelectric pattern recognition was designed for stroke rehabilitation. It detects and recognizes the user's motion intent based on electromyography (EMG) signals, and then helps the user to accomplish hand motions in real time. The hand exoskeleton can perform six kinds of motions, including the whole hand closing/opening, tripod pinch/opening, and the "gun" sign/opening. A 52-year-old woman, 8 months after stroke, made 20× 2-h visits over 10 weeks to participate in robot-assisted hand training. Though she was unable to move her fingers on her right hand before the training, EMG activities could be detected on her right forearm. In each visit, she took 4× 10-min robot-assisted training sessions, in which she repeated the aforementioned six motion patterns assisted by our intent-driven hand exoskeleton. After the training, her grip force increased from 1.5 to 2.7 kg, her pinch force increased from 1.5 to 2.5 kg, her score of Box and Block test increased from 3 to 7, her score of Fugl-Meyer (Part C) increased from 0 to 7, and her hand function increased from Stage 1 to Stage 2 in Chedoke-McMaster assessment. The results demonstrate the feasibility of robot-assisted training driven by myoelectric pattern recognition after stroke.

  6. Motor imagery in Asperger syndrome: testing action simulation by the hand laterality task.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimiliano Conson

    Full Text Available Asperger syndrome (AS is a neurodevelopmental condition within the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD characterized by specific difficulties in social interaction, communication and behavioural control. In recent years, it has been suggested that ASD is related to a dysfunction of action simulation processes, but studies employing imitation or action observation tasks provided mixed results. Here, we addressed action simulation processes in adolescents with AS by means of a motor imagery task, the classical hand laterality task (to decide whether a rotated hand image is left or right; mental rotation of letters was also evaluated. As a specific marker of action simulation in hand rotation, we assessed the so-called biomechanical effect, that is the advantage for judging hand pictures showing physically comfortable versus physically awkward positions. We found the biomechanical effect in typically-developing participants but not in participants with AS. Overall performance on both hand laterality and letter rotation tasks, instead, did not differ in the two groups. These findings demonstrated a specific alteration of motor imagery skills in AS. We suggest that impaired mental simulation and imitation of goal-less movements in ASD could be related to shared cognitive mechanisms.

  7. Heavy Right-Handed Neutrino Dark Matter and PeV Neutrinos at IceCube

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhupal Dev, P. S.; Kazanas, D.; Mohapatra, R. N.; Teplitz, V. L.; Zhang, Yongchao

    2016-01-01

    We discuss a simple non-supersymmetric model based on the electroweak gauge group SU(2) (sub L) times SU(2) prime times U(1) (Sub B-L) where the lightest of the right-handed neutrinos, which are part of the leptonic doublet of SU(2) prime, play the role of a long-lived unstable dark matter with mass in the multi-Peta-electronvolt range. We use a resonant s-channel annihilation to obtain the correct thermal relic density and relax the unitarity bound on dark matter mass. In this model, there exists a 3-body dark matter decay mode producing tau leptons and neutrinos, which could be the source for the Peta-electronvolt cascade events observed in the IceCube experiment. The model can be tested with more precise flavor information of the highest-energy neutrino events in future data.

  8. Heavy right-handed neutrino dark matter and PeV neutrinos at IceCube

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dev, P.S. Bhupal [Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik,Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Kazanas, D. [Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Mohapatra, R.N. [Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics, University of Maryland,College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Teplitz, V.L. [Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Department of Physics, Southern Methodist University,Dallas, TX 75205 (United States); Zhang, Yongchao [Service de Physique Théorique, Université Libre de Bruxelles,Boulevard du Triomphe, CP225, 1050 Brussels (Belgium); School of Physics, Sun Yat-Sen University,Guangzhou 510275 (China)

    2016-08-17

    We discuss a simple non-supersymmetric model based on the electroweak gauge group SU(2){sub L}×SU(2){sup ′}×U(1){sub B−L} where the lightest of the right-handed neutrinos, which are part of the leptonic doublet of SU(2){sup ′}, play the role of a long-lived unstable dark matter with mass in the multi-PeV range. We use a resonant s-channel annihilation to obtain the correct thermal relic density and relax the unitarity bound on dark matter mass. In this model, there exists a 3-body dark matter decay mode producing tau leptons and neutrinos, which could be the source for the PeV cascade events observed in the IceCube experiment. The model can be tested with more precise flavor information of the highest-energy neutrino events in future data.

  9. Hand washing promotion for preventing diarrhoea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ejemot-Nwadiaro, Regina I; Ehiri, John E; Arikpo, Dachi; Meremikwu, Martin M; Critchley, Julia A

    2015-01-01

    Background Diarrhoea accounts for 1.8 million deaths in children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). One of the identified strategies to prevent diarrhoea is hand washing. Objectives To assess the effects of hand washing promotion interventions on diarrhoeal episodes in children and adults. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register (27 May 2015); CENTRAL (published in the Cochrane Library 2015, Issue 5); MEDLINE (1966 to 27 May 2015); EMBASE (1974 to 27 May 2015); LILACS (1982 to 27 May 2015); PsycINFO (1967 to 27 May 2015); Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index (1981 to 27 May 2015); ERIC (1966 to 27 May 2015); SPECTR (2000 to 27 May 2015); Bibliomap (1990 to 27 May 2015); RoRe, The Grey Literature (2002 to 27 May 2015); World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP), metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT), and reference lists of articles up to 27 May 2015. We also contacted researchers and organizations in the field. Selection criteria Individually randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster-RCTs that compared the effects of hand washing interventions on diarrhoea episodes in children and adults with no intervention. Data collection and analysis Three review authors independently assessed trial eligibility, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. We stratified the analyses for child day-care centres or schools, community, and hospital-based settings. Where appropriate, incidence rate ratios (IRR) were pooled using the generic inverse variance method and random-effects model with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We used the GRADE approach to assess the quality of evidence. Main results We included 22 RCTs: 12 trials from child day-care centres or schools in mainly high-income countries (54,006 participants), nine community-based trials in LMICs (15,303 participants), and one hospital-based trial among people with acquired immune deficiency

  10. No specific role for the manual motor system in processing the meanings of words related to the hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natasha ePostle

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study explored whether semantic and motor systems are functionally interwoven via the use of a dual-task paradigm. According to embodied language accounts that propose an automatic and necessary involvement of the motor system in conceptual processing, concurrent processing of hand-related information should interfere more with hand movements than processing of unrelated body-part (i.e., foot, mouth information. Across three experiments, 100 right-handed participants performed left- or right-hand tapping movements while repeatedly reading action words related to different body-parts, or different body-part names, in both aloud and silent conditions. Concurrent reading of single words related to specific body-parts, or the same words embedded in sentences differing in syntactic and phonological complexity (to manipulate context-relevant processing, and reading while viewing videos of the actions and body-parts described by the target words (to elicit visuomotor associations all interfered with right-hand but not left-hand tapping rate. However, this motor interference was not affected differentially by hand-related stimuli. Thus, the results provide no support for proposals that body-part specific resources in cortical motor systems are shared between overt manual movements and meaning-related processing of words related to the hand.

  11. Left-right compatibility in the processing of trading verbs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmelo Mario Vicario

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The research investigating the nature of cognitive processes involved in the representation of economical outcomes is growing. Within this research, the mental accounting model proposes that individuals may well use cognitive operations to organize, evaluate, and keep track of their financial activities (Thaler, 1999. Here we wanted to test this hypothesis by asking to a group of participants to detect a syntax mistake of verbs indicating incoming and going out activities related to economical profit (trading verbs, swapping (swapping verbs and thinking (thinking verbs. We reported a left-right compatibility for trading verbs (i.e. participants were faster with their right hand while detecting verb referring to a monetary gain with respect to a monetary loss; and faster with their left hand while detecting a monetary loss with respect to a monetary gain. However, this pattern of result was not reported while detecting swapping verbs. Results are discussed taking into account the mental accounting theory as well as to the spatial mapping of valence hypothesis.

  12. Right cerebral hemisphere and central auditory processing in children with developmental dyslexia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulina C. Murphy-Ruiz

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective We hypothesized that if the right hemisphere auditory processing abilities can be altered in children with developmental dyslexia (DD, we can detect dysfunction using specific tests. Method We performed an analytical comparative cross-sectional study. We studied 20 right-handed children with DD and 20 healthy right-handed control subjects (CS. Children in both groups were age, gender, and school-grade matched. Focusing on the right hemisphere’s contribution, we utilized tests to measure alterations in central auditory processing (CAP, such as determination of frequency patterns; sound duration; music pitch recognition; and identification of environmental sounds. We compared results among the two groups. Results Children with DD showed lower performance than CS in all CAP subtests, including those that preferentially engaged the cerebral right hemisphere. Conclusion Our data suggests a significant contribution of the right hemisphere in alterations of CAP in children with DD. Thus, right hemisphere CAP must be considered for examination and rehabilitation of children with DD.

  13. Radiographic changes of the distal phalangeal tuft of the hands in subjects with systemic sclerosis. Systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izquierdo, Yojhan Edilberto; Calvo Páramo, Enrique; Castañeda, Luisa María; Gómez, Sandra Viviana; Zambrano, Fernán Santiago

    To determine abnormal plain radiograph findings of the distal phalanx tuft of the hand (DPTH) associated with systemic sclerosis in adults. A systematic review was developed following the parameters of the PRISMA guidelines in databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIREME, Scielo, Google Scholar and others including as primary outcomes alterations of DPTH (erosions, resorption, sclerosis and proliferation) detected by simple radiography in subjects with systemic sclerosis. The prevalence of radiographic findings was synthesized using the fixed effects model. The statistical associations were expressed in terms of relative risk or odds ratio with their respective confidence intervals and p values. Twenty-two observational studies were included; the prevalence of DPTH resorption was 28.3% (95% CI: 0.256-0.312; p < .001); I 2 =80.4%, the prevalence of calcinosis was 15.6% (95% CI: 0.113-0.210; p < .001); I 2 =0%. No study reported proliferation or erosions and only one study described sclerosis of DPTH in 5 individuals. Resorption and calcinosis of DPTH are the characteristic radiographic findings in patients with systemic sclerosis. However, new studies with greater methodological strength are needed to establish associations between these phenomena and their presence in other connective tissue diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

  14. Education and Political Participation of Women: The Case of Portugal

    OpenAIRE

    David, Fátima; Morais, Joana; Abreu, Rute; Marques, Lúcia; Segura, Liliane

    2016-01-01

    This research aims to analyses the women’s participation in Portugal politics in consequence of its educational attainment. On the one hand, the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic of April 2, 1976, gives women (and men) a right to equal opportunities for school success, to access to the higher education and to better working conditions. On the other hand, the same Constitution defends, in article 9, that fundamental task of the State is to promote equality between men and women and, in a...

  15. Qualitative findings from focus group discussions on hand hygiene compliance among health care workers in Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Sharon; McLaws, Mary-Louise

    2015-10-01

    It is accepted by hospital clinical governance that every clinician's "duty of care" includes hand hygiene, yet globally, health care workers (HCWs) continue to struggle with compliance. Focus group discussions were conducted to explore HCWs' barriers to hand hygiene in Vietnam. Twelve focus group discussions were conducted with HCWs from 6 public hospitals across Hanoi, Vietnam. Discussions included participants' experiences with and perceptions concerning hand hygiene. Tape recordings were transcribed verbatim and then translated into English. Thematic analysis was conducted by 2 investigators. Expressed frustration with high workload, limited access to hand hygiene solutions, and complicated guidelines that are difficult to interpret in overcrowded settings were considered by participants to be bona fide reasons for noncompliance. No participant acknowledged hand hygiene as a duty of care practice for her or his patients. Justification for noncompliance was the observation that visitors did not perform hand hygiene. HCWs did acknowledge a personal duty of care when hand hygiene was perceived to benefit her or his own health, and then neither workload or environmental challenges influenced compliance. Limited resources in Vietnam are amplified by overcrowded conditions and dual bed occupancy. Yet without a systematic systemic duty of care to patient safety, changes to guidelines and resources might not immediately improve compliance. Thus, introducing routine hand hygiene must start with education programs focusing on duty of care. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Evaluation of the rights of the child to participation in divorce/custody ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... proceedings is at the discretion of the court; award of custody in most cases are based on the testimony of the parents alone which may not be verified actually. In view of these findings, guidelines and measures to protect the best interest of the child and the legal right to child participation in custody matters are advocated.

  17. Crossmodal representation of a functional robotic hand arises after extensive training in healthy participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marini, Francesco; Tagliabue, Chiara F; Sposito, Ambra V; Hernandez-Arieta, Alejandro; Brugger, Peter; Estévez, Natalia; Maravita, Angelo

    2014-01-01

    The way in which humans represent their own bodies is critical in guiding their interactions with the environment. To achieve successful body-space interactions, the body representation is strictly connected with that of the space immediately surrounding it through efficient visuo-tactile crossmodal integration. Such a body-space integrated representation is not fixed, but can be dynamically modulated by the use of external tools. Our study aims to explore the effect of using a complex tool, namely a functional prosthesis, on crossmodal visuo-tactile spatial interactions in healthy participants. By using the crossmodal visuo-tactile congruency paradigm, we found that prolonged training with a mechanical hand capable of distal hand movements and providing sensory feedback induces a pattern of interference, which is not observed after a brief training, between visual stimuli close to the prosthesis and touches on the body. These results suggest that after extensive, but not short, training the functional prosthesis acquires a visuo-tactile crossmodal representation akin to real limbs. This finding adds to previous evidence for the embodiment of functional prostheses in amputees, and shows that their use may also improve the crossmodal combination of somatosensory feedback delivered by the prosthesis with visual stimuli in the space around it, thus effectively augmenting the patients' visuomotor abilities. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Hand washing promotion for preventing diarrhoea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ejemot-Nwadiaro, Regina I; Ehiri, John E; Arikpo, Dachi; Meremikwu, Martin M; Critchley, Julia A

    2015-09-03

    Diarrhoea accounts for 1.8 million deaths in children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). One of the identified strategies to prevent diarrhoea is hand washing. To assess the effects of hand washing promotion interventions on diarrhoeal episodes in children and adults. We searched the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register (27 May 2015); CENTRAL (published in the Cochrane Library 2015, Issue 5); MEDLINE (1966 to 27 May 2015); EMBASE (1974 to 27 May 2015); LILACS (1982 to 27 May 2015); PsycINFO (1967 to 27 May 2015); Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index (1981 to 27 May 2015); ERIC (1966 to 27 May 2015); SPECTR (2000 to 27 May 2015); Bibliomap (1990 to 27 May 2015); RoRe, The Grey Literature (2002 to 27 May 2015); World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP), metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT), and reference lists of articles up to 27 May 2015. We also contacted researchers and organizations in the field. Individually randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster-RCTs that compared the effects of hand washing interventions on diarrhoea episodes in children and adults with no intervention. Three review authors independently assessed trial eligibility, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. We stratified the analyses for child day-care centres or schools, community, and hospital-based settings. Where appropriate, incidence rate ratios (IRR) were pooled using the generic inverse variance method and random-effects model with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We used the GRADE approach to assess the quality of evidence. We included 22 RCTs: 12 trials from child day-care centres or schools in mainly high-income countries (54,006 participants), nine community-based trials in LMICs (15,303 participants), and one hospital-based trial among people with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) (148 participants).Hand washing promotion (education activities, sometimes with

  19. A pilot study of robotic-assisted exercise for hand weakness after stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Joel; Bishop, Joel; Gillen, Glen; Helbok, Raimund

    2011-01-01

    Upper limb paresis is a major source of disability in stroke survivors, and robotic aided exercise therapy is a promising approach to enhance motor abilities. Few devices have been available to provide robotic therapy to the fingers and hand. We report an open-label pilot study of 12 individuals with chronic moderate hemiparesis after stroke who underwent a six-week training program using a hand robotic device. Participants received a total of 18 hours of robotic therapy. Improvements were found in multiple measures of motor performance, including the Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer, the Motor Activity Log, the Manual Ability Measure-36, and the Jebsen Hand Function Test. All subjects tolerated the treatment well and no complications were observed. We conclude that robotic therapy for hand paresis after stroke is safe and feasible, and that further studies of efficacy are justified by these preliminary results. © 2011 IEEE

  20. Guideline Implementation: Hand Hygiene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Judith L

    2017-02-01

    Performing proper hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis is essential to reducing the rates of health care-associated infections, including surgical site infections. The updated AORN "Guideline for hand hygiene" provides guidance on hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis, the wearing of fingernail polish and artificial nails, proper skin care to prevent dermatitis, the wearing of jewelry, hand hygiene product selection, and quality assurance and performance improvement considerations. This article focuses on key points of the guideline to help perioperative personnel make informed decisions about hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis. The key points address the necessity of keeping fingernails and skin healthy, not wearing jewelry on the hands or wrists in the perioperative area, properly performing hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis, and involving patients and visitors in hand hygiene initiatives. Perioperative RNs should review the complete guideline for additional information and for guidance when writing and updating policies and procedures. Copyright © 2017 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Individual Differences in the Rubber Hand Illusion Are Related to Sensory Suggestibility.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Marotta

    Full Text Available In the rubber hand illusion (RHI, watching a rubber hand being stroked in synchrony with one's own hidden hand may induce a sense of ownership over the rubber hand. The illusion relies on bottom-up multisensory integration of visual, tactile, and proprioceptive information, and on top-down processes through which the rubber hand is incorporated into pre-existing representations of the body. Although the degree of illusory experience varies largely across individuals, the factors influencing individual differences are unknown. We investigated whether sensory suggestibility might modulate susceptibility to the RHI. Sensory suggestibility is a personality trait related to how individuals react to sensory information. Because of its sensory nature, this trait could be relevant for studies using the RHI paradigm. Seventy healthy volunteers were classified by Sensory Suggestibility Scale (SSS scores as having high or low suggestibility and assigned to either a high- (High-SSS or a low-suggestibility (Low-SSS group. Two components of the RHI were evaluated in synchronous and asynchronous stroking conditions: subjective experience of sense of ownership over the rubber hand via a 9-statement questionnaire, and proprioceptive drift as measured with a ruler. The High-SSS group was generally more susceptible to the subjective component; in the synchronous condition, they rated the statement assessing the sense of ownership higher than the Low-SSS group. The scores for this statement significantly correlated with the total SSS score, indicating that the higher the sensory suggestibility, the stronger the sense of ownership. No effect of sensory suggestibility on proprioceptive drift was observed, suggesting that the effect is specific for the subjective feeling of ownership. This study demonstrates that sensory suggestibility may contribute to participants' experience of the illusion and should be considered when using the RHI paradigm.

  2. Individual Differences in the Rubber Hand Illusion Are Related to Sensory Suggestibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marotta, Angela; Tinazzi, Michele; Cavedini, Clelia; Zampini, Massimiliano; Fiorio, Mirta

    2016-01-01

    In the rubber hand illusion (RHI), watching a rubber hand being stroked in synchrony with one's own hidden hand may induce a sense of ownership over the rubber hand. The illusion relies on bottom-up multisensory integration of visual, tactile, and proprioceptive information, and on top-down processes through which the rubber hand is incorporated into pre-existing representations of the body. Although the degree of illusory experience varies largely across individuals, the factors influencing individual differences are unknown. We investigated whether sensory suggestibility might modulate susceptibility to the RHI. Sensory suggestibility is a personality trait related to how individuals react to sensory information. Because of its sensory nature, this trait could be relevant for studies using the RHI paradigm. Seventy healthy volunteers were classified by Sensory Suggestibility Scale (SSS) scores as having high or low suggestibility and assigned to either a high- (High-SSS) or a low-suggestibility (Low-SSS) group. Two components of the RHI were evaluated in synchronous and asynchronous stroking conditions: subjective experience of sense of ownership over the rubber hand via a 9-statement questionnaire, and proprioceptive drift as measured with a ruler. The High-SSS group was generally more susceptible to the subjective component; in the synchronous condition, they rated the statement assessing the sense of ownership higher than the Low-SSS group. The scores for this statement significantly correlated with the total SSS score, indicating that the higher the sensory suggestibility, the stronger the sense of ownership. No effect of sensory suggestibility on proprioceptive drift was observed, suggesting that the effect is specific for the subjective feeling of ownership. This study demonstrates that sensory suggestibility may contribute to participants' experience of the illusion and should be considered when using the RHI paradigm.

  3. An fMRI study of the neural basis hand postures specific to tool use. Presidential award proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohgami, Yuko; Uchida, Nobuko; Matsuo, Kayako; Nakai, Toshiharu

    2007-01-01

    Patients with apraxia are often unable to mimic the use of a tool, even when it is presented visually. Such mimicking involves various cognitive and motor processes, including the visual perception of a tool and the manipulation of imagined tools. Although previous studies reported the involvement of several brain areas, including the left inferior parietal lobule, in such tool-use action, the details of each process have not been well understood. To clarify the neural basis of the process involved in forming hand postures for using tools, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in normal volunteers to investigate brain activation while they formed hand postures for tool manipulation. Three conditions were evaluated in separate block-designed fMRI series, formation of hand posture (A) using a tool, (B) imitating such a hand posture, and (C) to imitate the shape of a tool. Subjects formed their right hand in a manner specified according to the task conditions. Hand posturing for condition (A) induced activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45), left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), and the premotor area compared with the imitative posturing of condition (B). Activation in these areas might be related to processes shared by tool-use pantomime. On the other hand, comparison between conditions (A) and (C) demonstrated activation in the right superior parietal lobule (BA 7). This activation may reflect spatial regulation, in which the subject was prepared to hold and manipulate the tool. Formation of static hand postures to prepare for tool use may employ a neural network shared by various tool-use actions, such as pantomime. In addition, forming hand postures may require close coordination between the tool and hand. (author)

  4. Witnesses to hunger: participation through photovoice to ensure the right to food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chilton, Mariana; Rabinowich, Jenny; Council, Christina; Breaux, Jennifer

    2009-01-01

    Currently 30.2% of female-headed households with children in the United States experience food insecurity, defined as the lack of access to enough food for an active and healthy life. In 2007, approximately 12.4 million children were at risk for hunger. When female-headed households and households with children have the highest prevalence of food insecurity and hunger in the US, the participation of low-income mothers in the development and administration of policies and programs related to nutrition and poverty are fundamental to the process of ending hunger and improving child well-being. In this article, we describe the Witnesses to Hunger program, a participatory advocacy project that uses the "photovoice" technique to engage mothers to take photos and record their stories about poverty and hunger with the intent to inform social welfare policy in the US. Witnesses to Hunger is grounded in the human rights framework that is supported by international conventions on the rights of women, the rights of the child, and economic, social, and cultural rights. The Witnesses to Hunger program works to increase civic participation of low-income women and to maintain a strategic public awareness campaign. After introducing the Witnesses to Hunger program, this article describes the past decade of unchanging food insecurity disparities, demonstrates the lack of participatory dialogue in health and welfare programs, and provides examples of how Witnesses to Hunger counters the conventional dialogue about welfare. Throughout, this paper demonstrates how the participatory approach of the Witnesses to Hunger program improves our understanding of basic human needs and the social determinants of health, and informs legislators on how to improve health and welfare policy.

  5. Search for a right-handed W boson and heavy neutrino in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV with the CMS detector

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00287571

    A search for a right-handed heavy gauge boson $W$ in the context of the Left-Right symmetry model is presented. The search has been conducted using the Compact Muon Solenoid detector at the Large Hadron Collider with proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 $\\text{fb}^{-1}$ at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The events selected are required to have two same flavor charged leptons ($e$ or $\\mu$) and two jets. No excess above standard model expectation is seen in the invariant mass distribution of the two lepton, two jet system. Assuming identical couplings and decay branching fractions as the left-handed gauge boson, a $W_R$ boson with a mass less than 4.4 TeV is excluded at 95\\% confidence level.

  6. Excitation of a plasma wave by a right-handed Gaussian EM beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sodha, M.S.; Patheja, B.L.; Sharma, R.P.

    1979-01-01

    This paper presents an investigation of the excitation of an electron plasma wave in a hot collisionless magnetoplasma by a right-handed Gaussian EM beam (pump wave) when the plasma wave and the pump wave are propagating along the static magnetic field. On account of the Gaussian intensity distribution of the pump wave, pondermotive force becomes finite and the electrons are redistributed. This redistribution is highly dependent on whether ω/sub c/>2ω 0 or ω/sub c/ 0 , where ω/sub c/ is the electron cyclotron frequency and ω 0 is the pump-wave frequency. The modified background electron density leads to coupling between the plasma wave and the pump wave. When the initial power of the pump wave is greater than the critical power for self-focusing, oscillatory self-focusing of the pump wave occurs and the coupling of the two waves are modified. Moreover, the effect of changing the intensity of the magnetic field affects the self-focusing of the pump wave, and the plasma-wave excitation is accordingly affected

  7. New constraints on the 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez-Vega, B.L.; Montero, J.C. [Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Instituto de Fisica Teorica (IFT), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Schmitz, E.R. [Universitaet Bonn, Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics and Physikalisches Institut, Bonn (Germany)

    2018-02-15

    In the framework of a 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos and three scalar triplets we consider different spontaneous symmetry breaking patterns seeking for a non-linear realization of accidental symmetries of the model, which will produce physical Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons in the neutral scalar spectrum. We make a detailed study of the safety of the model concerning the NG boson emission in energy-loss processes which could affect the standard evolution of astrophysical objects. We consider the model with a Z{sub 2} symmetry, conventionally used in the literature, finding that in all of the symmetry breaking patterns the model is excluded. Additionally, looking for solutions for that problem, we introduce soft Z{sub 2}-breaking terms in the scalar potential in order to remove the extra accidental symmetries and at the same time maintain the model as simple as possible. We find that there is only one soft Z{sub 2}-breaking term that enables us to get rid of the problematic NG bosons. (orig.)

  8. The nucleotide sequence of the right-hand terminus of adenovirus type 5 DNA: Implications for the mechanism of DNA replication

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steenbergh, P.H.; Sussenbach, J.S.

    The nucleotide sequence of the right-hand terminal 3% of adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) DNA has been determined, using the chemical degradation technique developed by Maxam and Gilbert (1977). This region of the genome comprises the 1003 basepair long HindIII-I fragment and the first 75 nucleotides of the

  9. An evaluation of hand hygiene in an intensive care unit: Are visitors a potential vector for pathogens?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birnbach, David J; Rosen, Lisa F; Fitzpatrick, Maureen; Arheart, Kristopher L; Munoz-Price, L Silvia

    2015-01-01

    Patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) are frequently immunocompromised and might be highly susceptible to infection. Visitors to an ICU who do not adequately clean their hands could carry pathogenic organisms, resulting in risk to a vulnerable patient population. This observational study identifies pathogens carried on the hands of visitors into an ICU and investigates the effect of hand hygiene. Two observers, one stationed outside and one inside the ICU, evaluated whether visitors performed hand hygiene at any of the wall-mounted alcohol-based hand sanitizer dispensers prior to reaching a patient's room. Upon reaching a patient's room, the dominant hand of all of the participants was cultured. Of the 55 participating visitors, 35 did not disinfect their hands. Among the cultures of those who failed to perform hand hygiene, eight cultures grew Gram-negative rods and one grew methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Of the cultures of the 20 individuals who performed hand hygiene, 14 (70%) had no growth on the cultures, and the remaining six (30%) showed only the usual skin flora. The visitors who do not perform hand hygiene might carry pathogens that pose a risk to ICU patients. Copyright © 2015 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. BODIL BEGTRUP AND THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Individual agency, transnationalism and intergovernmentalism in early UN human rights

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Midtgaard, K.

    2011-01-01

    The article investigates the individual agency of the little studied transnational, Bodil Begtrup, in the subfields of women's and minority rights, and refugee and asylum policy. Begtrup fulfilled many roles - as state representative, expert advisor, member of the United Nations' Commission...... on the Status of Women, and president of a national NGO. This article shows how Begtrup enjoyed wide room for manoeuvre in the subfield of women's rights, and acted in this as a transnational norm entrepreneur and process entrepreneur advocating women's rights as an integral part of human rights and forging...... the change of the institutional design of the UN human rights institutions. In the subfield of minority rights, refugee and asylum policy, Begtrup acted under tight governmental control because the issue at hand was subject to national interest and domestic party politics. Her agency in the two subfields...

  11. Mapping Sensory Spots for Moderate Temperatures on the Back of Hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fan; Chen, Guixu; Zhou, Sikai; Han, Danhong; Xu, Jingjing; Xu, Shengyong

    2017-12-04

    Thermosensation with thermoreceptors plays an important role in maintaining body temperature at an optimal state and avoiding potential damage caused by harmful hot or cold environmental temperatures. In this work, the locations of sensory spots for sensing moderate temperatures of 40-50 °C on the back of the hands of young Chinese people were mapped in a blind-test manner with a thermal probe of 1.0 mm spatial resolution. The number of sensory spots increased along with the testing temperature; however, the surface density of sensory spots was remarkably lower than those reported previously. The locations of the spots were irregularly distributed and subject-dependent. Even for the same subject, the number and location of sensory spots were unbalanced and asymmetric between the left and right hands. The results may offer valuable information for designing artificial electronic skin and wearable devices, as well as for clinical applications.

  12. Improved Hand Hygiene Compliance is Associated with the Change of Perception toward Hand Hygiene among Medical Personnel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Se Jeong; Chung, Moon Joo; Lee, Ju Hee; Kang, Hyun Joo; Lee, Jeong-a; Kim, Yong Kyun

    2014-01-01

    Background Hand hygiene compliance has improved significantly through hand hygiene promotion programs that have included poster campaign, monitoring and performance feedback, and education with special attentions to perceived subjective norms. We investigated factors associated with improved hand hygiene compliance, focusing on whether the improvement of hand hygiene compliance is associated with changed perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. Materials and Methods Hand hygiene compliance and perceptions toward hand hygiene among medical personnel were compared between the second quarter of 2009 (before the start of a hand hygiene promotion program) and the second quarter of 2012. We assessed adherence to hand hygiene among medical personnel quarterly according to the WHO recommended method for direct observation. Also, we used a modified self-report questionnaire to collect perception data. Results Hand hygiene compliance among physicians and nurses improved significantly from 19.0% in 2009 to 74.5% in 2012 (P Hand hygiene compliance among the medical personnel continued to improve, with a slight decline in 2013. Perceptions toward hand hygiene improved significantly between 2009 and 2012. Specifically, improvements were evident in intention to adhere to hand hygiene, knowledge about hand hygiene methods, knowledge about hand hygiene indications including care of a dirty and a clean body site on the same patient, perceived behavioral and subjective norms, positive attitude toward hand hygiene promotion campaign, perception of difficulty in adhering to hand hygiene, and motivation to improve adherence to hand hygiene. Conclusions The examined hand hygiene promotion program resulted in improved hand hygiene compliance and perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. The improved perception increased hand hygiene compliance. Especially, the perception of being a role model for other colleagues is very important to improve hand hygiene

  13. A case of expressive-vocal amusia in a right-handed patient with left hemispheric cerebral infarction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uetsuki, Shizuka; Kinoshita, Hiroshi; Takahashi, Ryuichi; Obata, Satoshi; Kakigi, Tatsuya; Wada, Yoshiko; Yokoyama, Kazumasa

    2016-03-01

    A 53-year-old right-handed woman had an extensive lesion in the left hemisphere due to an infarction caused by vasospasm secondary to subarachnoid bleeding. She exhibited persistent expressive-vocal amusia with no symptoms of aphasia. Evaluation of the patient's musical competence using the Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia, rhythm reproduction tests, acoustic analysis of pitch upon singing familiar music, Japanese standard language tests, and other detailed clinical examinations revealed that her amusia was more dominantly related to pitch production. The intactness of her speech provided strong evidence that the right hemisphere played a major role in her linguistic processing. Data from functional magnetic resonance imaging while she was singing a familiar song, a scale, and reciting lyrics indicated that perilesional residual activation in the left hemisphere was associated with poor pitch production, while right hemispheric activation was involved in linguistic processing. The localization of infarction more anterior to the left Sylvian fissure might be related to the dominant deficits in expressive aspects of the singing of the patient. Compromised motor programming producing a single tone may have made a major contribution to her poor singing. Imperfect auditory feedback due to borderline perceptual ability or improper audio-motor associations might also have played a role. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Involvement of right piriform cortex in olfactory familiarity judgments. : Familiarity judgment in olfaction

    OpenAIRE

    Plailly , Jane; Bensafi , Moustafa; Pachot-Clouard , Mathilde; Delon-Martin , Chantal; Kareken , David ,; Rouby , Catherine; Segebarth , Christoph; Royet , Jean ,

    2005-01-01

    International audience; Previous studies have shown activation of right orbitofrontal cortex during judgments of odor familiarity. In the present study, we sought to extend our knowledge about the neural circuits involved in such a task by exploring the involvement of the right prefrontal areas and limbic/primary olfactory structures. Fourteen right-handed male subjects were tested using fMRI with a single functional run of two olfactory conditions (odor detection and familiarity judgments). ...

  15. New conditions on synchronization of networks of linearly coupled dynamical systems with non-Lipschitz right-hand sides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Bo; Lu, Wenlian; Chen, Tianping

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we study synchronization of networks of linearly coupled dynamical systems. The node dynamics of the network can be very general, which may not satisfy the QUAD condition. We derive sufficient conditions for synchronization, which can be regarded as extensions of previous results. These results can be employed to networks of coupled systems, of which, in particular, the node dynamics have non-Lipschitz or even discontinuous right-hand sides. We also give several corollaries where the synchronization of some specific non-QUAD systems can be deduced. As an application, we propose a scheme to realize synchronization of coupled switching systems via coupling the signals which drive the switchings. Examples with numerical simulations are also provided to illustrate the theoretical results. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Three years of national hand hygiene campaign in Germany: what are the key conclusions for clinical practice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reichardt, C; Königer, D; Bunte-Schönberger, K; van der Linden, P; Mönch, N; Schwab, F; Behnke, M; Gastmeier, P

    2013-02-01

    -intensive care units. Overall, the implementation of a national campaign using the WHO multi-modal intervention strategy has led to improved hand hygiene compliance and hand-rub availability in participating settings. Copyright © 2013 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Looking at eye dominance from a different angle: is sighting strength related to hand preference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, David P; Hutchinson, Claire V

    2013-10-01

    Sighting dominance (the behavioural preference for one eye over the other under monocular viewing conditions) has traditionally been thought of as a robust individual trait. However, Khan and Crawford (2001) have shown that, under certain viewing conditions, eye preference reverses as a function of horizontal gaze angle. Remarkably, the reversal of sighting from one eye to the other depends on which hand is used to reach out and grasp the target. Their procedure provides an ideal way to measure the strength of monocular preference for sighting, which may be related to other indicators of hemispheric specialisation for speech, language and motor function. Therefore, we hypothesised that individuals with consistent side preferences (e.g., right hand, right eye) should have more robust sighting dominance than those with crossed lateral preferences. To test this idea, we compared strength of eye dominance in individuals who are consistently right or left sided for hand and foot preference with those who are not. We also modified their procedure in order to minimise a potential image size confound, suggested by Banks et al. (2004) as an explanation of Khan and Crawford's results. We found that the sighting dominance switch occurred at similar eccentricities when we controlled for effects of hand occlusion and target size differences. We also found that sighting dominance thresholds change predictably with the hand used. However, we found no evidence for relationships between strength of hand preference as assessed by questionnaire or by pegboard performance and strength of sighting dominance. Similarly, participants with consistent hand and foot preferences did not show stronger eye preference as assessed using the Khan and Crawford procedure. These data are discussed in terms of indirect relationships between sighting dominance, hand preference and cerebral specialisation for language and motor control. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Hand exposure of nuclear medicine workers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jankowski, J.; Wrzesien, M.; Olszewski, J.

    2007-01-01

    Full text: Workers of Nuclear Medicine units labelling radiopharmaceuticals with technetium 99mTc are exposed to gamma radiation. The general opinion that individual dosimetry, with the aid of personal dose meters worn on the radiopharmacists' body, reflects true exposure of that occupational group is false. The use of ring dose meters worn on the fingers does not provide a true indication of the exposure of the radiopharmacists' hands. Measurements performed in 2001 - 2005 by the Institute of Occupational Medicine, with the use of dose meters placed on radiopharmacists' fingers, revealed that the equivalent dose to the hands ranged from 5.5 mSv to 95 mSv. Mean annual dose was 29 mSv. The finger dose meter is usually worn at the base of the middle finger, even if it is the fingertips that are most exposed to the radiation. In 2004-2005, we determined the distributions of the doses to the radiopharmacists' hands. The determinations were performed during one working day. During those determinations, thermo luminescence detectors were placed at 19 locations on the left and right hands. The subjects were 13 workers of 5 nuclear medicine units. The recorded doses ranged from 0.02 to 28 mSv for the left hand, and from 0.01 to 18 mSv for the right hand. The results show that the tips of the thumb, index finger and middle finger were the most exposed areas. The chances that the skin of those three fingertips receives yearly doses in excess of the current limit of 500 mSv are fairly high. It is recommended, therefore, to use annual dose constraints for the dose recorded by the ring dose meter at the level of 100 mSv per year as a safe limit to protect workers from the risk of exceeding the limit value for the dermal exposure. Whenever the dose value approaches 100 mSv/u, where u is the number of determinations of the partial doses performed during the period of one year, steps must be undertaken to explain the reasons why such a level has been reached and suitable

  19. Preference for orientations commonly viewed for one's own hand in the anterior intraparietal cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Regine Zopf

    Full Text Available Brain regions in the intraparietal and the premotor cortices selectively process visual and multisensory events near the hands (peri-hand space. Visual information from the hand itself modulates this processing potentially because it is used to estimate the location of one's own body and the surrounding space. In humans specific occipitotemporal areas process visual information of specific body parts such as hands. Here we used an fMRI block-design to investigate if anterior intraparietal and ventral premotor 'peri-hand areas' exhibit selective responses to viewing images of hands and viewing specific hand orientations. Furthermore, we investigated if the occipitotemporal 'hand area' is sensitive to viewed hand orientation. Our findings demonstrate increased BOLD responses in the left anterior intraparietal area when participants viewed hands and feet as compared to faces and objects. Anterior intraparietal and also occipitotemporal areas in the left hemisphere exhibited response preferences for viewing right hands with orientations commonly viewed for one's own hand as compared to uncommon own hand orientations. Our results indicate that both anterior intraparietal and occipitotemporal areas encode visual limb-specific shape and orientation information.

  20. Virtual Hand Feedback Reduces Reaction Time in an Interactive Finger Reaching Task.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johannes Brand

    Full Text Available Computer interaction via visually guided hand or finger movements is a ubiquitous part of daily computer usage in work or gaming. Surprisingly, however, little is known about the performance effects of using virtual limb representations versus simpler cursors. In this study 26 healthy right-handed adults performed cued index finger flexion-extension movements towards an on-screen target while wearing a data glove. They received each of four different types of real-time visual feedback: a simple circular cursor, a point light pattern indicating finger joint positions, a cartoon hand and a fully shaded virtual hand. We found that participants initiated the movements faster when receiving feedback in the form of a hand than when receiving circular cursor or point light feedback. This overall difference was robust for three out of four hand versus circle pairwise comparisons. The faster movement initiation for hand feedback was accompanied by a larger movement amplitude and a larger movement error. We suggest that the observed effect may be related to priming of hand information during action perception and execution affecting motor planning and execution. The results may have applications in the use of body representations in virtual reality applications.

  1. Effects of Hand Proximity and Movement Direction in Spatial and Temporal Gap Discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiemers, Michael; Fischer, Martin H

    2016-01-01

    Previous research on the interplay between static manual postures and visual attention revealed enhanced visual selection near the hands (near-hand effect). During active movements there is also superior visual performance when moving toward compared to away from the stimulus (direction effect). The "modulated visual pathways" hypothesis argues that differential involvement of magno- and parvocellular visual processing streams causes the near-hand effect. The key finding supporting this hypothesis is an increase in temporal and a reduction in spatial processing in near-hand space (Gozli et al., 2012). Since this hypothesis has, so far, only been tested with static hand postures, we provide a conceptual replication of Gozli et al.'s (2012) result with moving hands, thus also probing the generality of the direction effect. Participants performed temporal or spatial gap discriminations while their right hand was moving below the display. In contrast to Gozli et al. (2012), temporal gap discrimination was superior at intermediate and not near hand proximity. In spatial gap discrimination, a direction effect without hand proximity effect suggests that pragmatic attentional maps overshadowed temporal/spatial processing biases for far/near-hand space.

  2. Pain-related psychological issues in hand therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamasaki, Tokiko; Pelletier, René; Bourbonnais, Daniel; Harris, Patrick; Choinière, Manon

    Literature review. Pain is a subjective experience that results from the modulation of nociception conveyed to the brain via the nervous system. Perception of pain takes place when potential or actual noxious stimuli are appraised as threats of injury. This appraisal is influenced by one's cognitions and emotions based on her/his pain-related experiences, which are processed in the forebrain and limbic areas of the brain. Unarguably, patients' psychological factors such as cognitions (eg, pain catastrophizing), emotions (eg, depression), and pain-related behaviors (eg, avoidance) can influence perceived pain intensity, disability, and treatment outcomes. Therefore, hand therapists should address the patient pain experience using a biopsychosocial approach. However, in hand therapy, a biomedical perspective predominates in pain management by focusing solely on tissue healing. This review aims to raise awareness among hand therapists of the impact of pain-related psychological factors. This literature review allowed to describe (1) how the neurophysiological mechanisms of pain can be influenced by various psychological factors, (2) several evidence-based interventions that can be integrated into hand therapy to address these psychological issues, and (3) some approaches of psychotherapy for patients with maladaptive pain experiences. Restoration of sensory and motor functions as well as alleviating pain is at the core of hand therapy. Numerous psychological factors including patients' beliefs, cognitions, and emotions alter their pain experience and may impact on their outcomes. Decoding the biopsychosocial components of the patients' pain is thus essential for hand therapists. Copyright © 2018 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. A robot hand testbed designed for enhancing embodiment and functional neurorehabilitation of body schema in subjects with upper limb impairment or loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hellman, Randall B; Chang, Eric; Tanner, Justin; Helms Tillery, Stephen I; Santos, Veronica J

    2015-01-01

    Many upper limb amputees experience an incessant, post-amputation "phantom limb pain" and report that their missing limbs feel paralyzed in an uncomfortable posture. One hypothesis is that efferent commands no longer generate expected afferent signals, such as proprioceptive feedback from changes in limb configuration, and that the mismatch of motor commands and visual feedback is interpreted as pain. Non-invasive therapeutic techniques for treating phantom limb pain, such as mirror visual feedback (MVF), rely on visualizations of postural changes. Advances in neural interfaces for artificial sensory feedback now make it possible to combine MVF with a high-tech "rubber hand" illusion, in which subjects develop a sense of embodiment with a fake hand when subjected to congruent visual and somatosensory feedback. We discuss clinical benefits that could arise from the confluence of known concepts such as MVF and the rubber hand illusion, and new technologies such as neural interfaces for sensory feedback and highly sensorized robot hand testbeds, such as the "BairClaw" presented here. Our multi-articulating, anthropomorphic robot testbed can be used to study proprioceptive and tactile sensory stimuli during physical finger-object interactions. Conceived for artificial grasp, manipulation, and haptic exploration, the BairClaw could also be used for future studies on the neurorehabilitation of somatosensory disorders due to upper limb impairment or loss. A remote actuation system enables the modular control of tendon-driven hands. The artificial proprioception system enables direct measurement of joint angles and tendon tensions while temperature, vibration, and skin deformation are provided by a multimodal tactile sensor. The provision of multimodal sensory feedback that is spatiotemporally consistent with commanded actions could lead to benefits such as reduced phantom limb pain, and increased prosthesis use due to improved functionality and reduced cognitive burden.

  4. A robot hand testbed designed for enhancing embodiment and functional neurorehabilitation of body schema in subjects with upper limb impairment or loss

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Randall B. Hellman

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Many upper limb amputees experience an incessant, post-amputation phantom limb pain and report that their missing limbs feel paralyzed in an uncomfortable posture. One hypothesis is that efferent commands no longer generate expected afferent signals, such as proprioceptive feedback from changes in limb configuration, and that the mismatch of motor commands and visual feedback is interpreted as pain. Non-invasive therapeutic techniques for treating phantom limb pain, such as mirror visual feedback (MVF, rely on visualizations of postural changes. Advances in neural interfaces for artificial sensory feedback now make it possible to combine MVF with a high-tech rubber hand illusion, in which subjects develop a sense of embodiment with a fake hand when subjected to congruent visual and somatosensory feedback. We discuss clinical benefits that could arise from the confluence of known concepts such as MVF and the rubber hand illusion, and new technologies such as neural interfaces for sensory feedback and highly sensorized robot hand testbeds, such as the BairClaw presented here. Our multi-articulating, anthropomorphic robot testbed can be used to study proprioceptive and tactile sensory stimuli during physical finger-object interactions. Conceived for artificial grasp, manipulation, and haptic exploration, the BairClaw could also be used for future studies on the neurorehabilitation of somatosensory disorders due to upper limb impairment or loss. A remote actuation system enables the modular control of tendon-driven hands. The artificial proprioception system enables direct measurement of joint angles and tendon tensions while temperature, vibration, and skin deformation are provided by a multimodal tactile sensor. The provision of multimodal sensory feedback that is spatiotemporally consistent with commanded actions could lead to benefits such as reduced phantom limb pain, and increased prosthesis use due to improved functionality and reduced

  5. From the Left to the Right: How the Brain Compensates Progressive Loss of Language Function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiel, Alexander; Habedank, Birgit; Herholz, Karl; Kessler, Josef; Winhuisen, Lutz; Haupt, Walter F.; Heiss, Wolf-Dieter

    2006-01-01

    In normal right-handed subjects language production usually is a function of the left brain hemisphere. Patients with aphasia following brain damage to the left hemisphere have a considerable potential to compensate for the loss of this function. Sometimes, but not always, areas of the right hemisphere which are homologous to language areas of the…

  6. Accuracy and confidence of visual short-term memory do not go hand-in-hand: behavioral and neural dissociations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Bona

    Full Text Available Currently influential models of working memory posit that memory content is highly accessible to conscious inspection. These models predict that metacognition of memory performance should go hand-in-hand with the accuracy of the underlying memory representation. To test this view, we investigated how visual information presented during the maintenance period affects VSTM accuracy and confidence. We used a delayed cue-target orientation discrimination task in which participants were asked to hold in memory a grating, and during the maintenance period a second memory cue could be presented. VSTM accuracy of the first memory cue was impaired when the orientation of the second memory cue was sufficiently different. However, participants' response confidence was reduced whenever the second memory cue was presented; thus VSTM accuracy and confidence were dissociated. In a second experiment, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC to investigate the causal role of this region in VSTM metacognition. Relative to the sham condition, anodal tDCS induced a general reduction in confidence ratings but did not affect VSTM accuracy. Overall, these results indicate that our metacognition of memory performance is influenced by factors other than the accuracy of the underlying memory representation.

  7. Accuracy and Confidence of Visual Short-Term Memory Do Not Go Hand-In-Hand: Behavioral and Neural Dissociations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bona, Silvia; Silvanto, Juha

    2014-01-01

    Currently influential models of working memory posit that memory content is highly accessible to conscious inspection. These models predict that metacognition of memory performance should go hand-in-hand with the accuracy of the underlying memory representation. To test this view, we investigated how visual information presented during the maintenance period affects VSTM accuracy and confidence. We used a delayed cue–target orientation discrimination task in which participants were asked to hold in memory a grating, and during the maintenance period a second memory cue could be presented. VSTM accuracy of the first memory cue was impaired when the orientation of the second memory cue was sufficiently different. However, participants' response confidence was reduced whenever the second memory cue was presented; thus VSTM accuracy and confidence were dissociated. In a second experiment, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to investigate the causal role of this region in VSTM metacognition. Relative to the sham condition, anodal tDCS induced a general reduction in confidence ratings but did not affect VSTM accuracy. Overall, these results indicate that our metacognition of memory performance is influenced by factors other than the accuracy of the underlying memory representation. PMID:24663094

  8. The activity of the primary motor cortex ipsilateral to the exercising hand decreases during repetitive handgrip exercise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shibuya, Kenichi

    2011-01-01

    The brain function controlling muscle force production is not yet fully understood. The purpose of this study was to examine bilateral primary motor cortex (M1) oxygenation during static-handgrip exercises performed with the right hand (60% maximal voluntary contraction; 10 s exercise/75 s rest; five sets). Twelve healthy, right-handed male subjects participated in this study. Near-infrared spectroscopy probes were positioned over the bilateral M1 to measure cortical oxygenation during handgrip exercises. The maximum values of the changes in concentrations of oxyhemoglobin (HbO 2 ) and deoxyhemoglobin (Hb) across the trials (i) did not change significantly during the contralateral M1 activation (p > 0.05), whereas (ii) in the case of the ipsilateral M1 activation a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in HbO 2 and a significant (p < 0.01) decrease in Hb could be measured. The activation in ipsilateral M1 at the fifth trial was significantly decreased compared with that in the first trial (HbO 2 : p < 0.001; Hb: p < 0.001). The present results suggest that the ipsilateral M1 is recruited during the motor task in compensation for the contralateral M1 and the habituation to motor task might alter the efficiency for interaction of the ipsilateral M1 to the contralateral M1. The interhemispheric interaction might change due to habituation to motor task

  9. Long-term progressive motor skill training enhances corticospinal excitability for the ipsilateral hemisphere and motor performance of the untrained hand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Lasse; Larsen, Malte Nejst; Grey, Michael James

    2017-01-01

    It is well-established that unilateral motor practice can lead to increased performance in the opposite non-trained hand. Here, we test the hypothesis that progressively increasing task difficulty during long-term skill training with the dominant right hand increase performance and corticomotor...... and accuracy to individual proficiency promotes motor skill learning and drives the iM1-CSE resulting in enhanced performance of the non-trained hand. The results underline the importance of increasing task difficulty progressively and individually in skill learning and rehabilitation training. This article...... excitability of the left non-trained hand. Subjects practiced a visuomotor tracking task engaging right digit V for 6 weeks with either progressively increasing task difficulty (PT) or no progression (NPT). Corticospinal excitability(CSE) was evaluated from the resting motor threshold(rMT) and recruitment...

  10. Long-term progressive motor skill training enhances corticospinal excitability for the ipsilateral hemisphere and motor performance of the untrained hand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Lasse; Larsen, Malte Nejst; Grey, Michael James

    2017-01-01

    It is well established that unilateral motor practice can lead to increased performance in the opposite non-trained hand. Here, we test the hypothesis that progressively increasing task difficulty during long-term skill training with the dominant right hand increase performance and corticomotor...... demands for timing and accuracy to individual proficiency promotes motor skill learning and drives the iM1-CSE resulting in enhanced performance of the non-trained hand. The results underline the importance of increasing task difficulty progressively and individually in skill learning and rehabilitation...... excitability of the left non-trained hand. Subjects practiced a visuomotor tracking task engaging right digit V for 6 weeks with either progressively increasing task difficulty (PT) or no progression (NPT). Corticospinal excitability (CSE) was evaluated from the resting motor threshold (rMT) and recruitment...

  11. Evaluation of four steering wheels to determine driver hand placement in a static environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mossey, Mary E; Xi, Yubin; McConomy, Shayne K; Brooks, Johnell O; Rosopa, Patrick J; Venhovens, Paul J

    2014-07-01

    While much research exists on occupant packaging both proprietary and in the literature, more detailed research regarding user preferences for subjective ratings of steering wheel designs is sparse in published literature. This study aimed to explore the driver interactions with production steering wheels in four vehicles by using anthropometric data, driver hand placement, and driver grip design preferences for Generation-Y and Baby Boomers. In this study, participants selected their preferred grip diameter, responded to a series of questions about the steering wheel grip as they sat in four vehicles, and rank ordered their preferred grip design. Thirty-two male participants (16 Baby Boomers between ages 47 and 65 and 16 Generation-Y between ages 18 and 29) participated in the study. Drivers demonstrated different gripping behavior between vehicles and between groups. Recommendations for future work in steering wheel grip design and naturalistic driver hand positioning are discussed. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. Implications of Being Left-Handed as Related To Being Right-Handed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Jana H.

    Research indicates that there are physical and social, and possibly cognitive, differences between left-handers and right-handers. The three substantive sections of this colloquium paper cover brain functions, theories pertaining to the genesis of handedness, and cognitive development as related to handedness. Section 1 provides a brief…

  13. Hand hygiene in reducing transient flora on the hands of healthcare workers: an educational intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapil, R; Bhavsar, H K; Madan, M

    2015-01-01

    Hand hygiene has now been recognised as one of the most effective intervention to control the transmission of infections in a hospital and education is an important tool to ensure its implementation. In order to convince the users and as a part of education, it is important to generate evidence on the role of hand hygiene in reducing the bacterial flora on their hands. The present study was undertaken in a tertiary care hospital to demonstrate the presence of bacterial flora on the hands of healthcare workers (HCW) in different categories, to teach them proper hand hygiene technique using alcohol-based hand rub and determine the outcome for reduction of bacteria. A total sample size of 60 subjects including resident doctors, medical students, nurses and hospital attendants were included in the study after obtaining informed consent. Each person was educated on the technique of hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand rub and hand impressions were cultured before and after hand hygiene. All the subjects were also given a questionnaire to assess their perception on hand hygiene. The WHO posters on proper hand hygiene were displayed in the appropriate areas of the hospital in addition, as an educational tool. Majority (42 out of 60) of the HCWs had bacterial count up to 100 colonies or more on both hands before the application of hand rub while working in the hospital. After use of alcohol hand rub with a proper hand hygiene technique, it was found that the percentage reduction was 95-99% among doctors and nurses, 70% among hospital attendants and 50% among sanitary attendants. Staphylococcus aureus was present on the hands of eight persons of which three were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The study demonstrates that transient bacteria are present on the hands of HCWs but majority could be removed by proper hand hygiene, which needs continuous education to be effective. It also shows that active education by demonstrating the proper hand hygiene technique

  14. Atypical activation of the mirror neuron system during perception of hand motion in autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martineau, Joëlle; Andersson, Frédéric; Barthélémy, Catherine; Cottier, Jean-Philippe; Destrieux, Christophe

    2010-03-12

    Disorders in the autism spectrum are characterized by deficits in social and communication skills such as imitation, pragmatic language, theory of mind, and empathy. The discovery of the "mirror neuron system" (MNS) in macaque monkeys may provide a basis from which to explain some of the behavioral dysfunctions seen in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).We studied seven right-handed high-functioning male autistic and eight normal subjects (TD group) using functional magnetic resonance imaging during observation and execution of hand movements compared to a control condition (rest). The between group comparison of the contrast [observation versus rest] provided evidence of a bilateral greater activation of inferior frontal gyrus during observation of human motion than during rest for the ASD group than for the TD group. This hyperactivation of the pars opercularis (belonging to the MNS) during observation of human motion in autistic subjects provides strong support for the hypothesis of atypical activity of the MNS that may be at the core of the social deficits in autism. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Tolerability, usability and acceptability of dissolving microneedle patch administration in human subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arya, Jaya; Henry, Sebastien; Kalluri, Haripriya; McAllister, Devin V; Pewin, Winston P; Prausnitz, Mark R

    2017-06-01

    To support translation of microneedle patches from pre-clinical development into clinical trials, this study examined the effect of microneedle patch application on local skin reactions, reliability of use and acceptability to patients. Placebo patches containing dissolving microneedles were administered to fifteen human participants. Microneedle patches were well tolerated in the skin with no pain or swelling and only mild erythema localized to the site of patch administration that resolved fully within seven days. Microneedle patches could be administered by hand without the need of an applicator and delivery efficiencies were similar for investigator-administration and self-administration. Microneedle patch administration was not considered painful and the large majority of subjects were somewhat or fully confident that they self-administered patches correctly. Microneedle patches were overwhelmingly preferred over conventional needle and syringe injection. Altogether, these results demonstrate that dissolving microneedle patches were well tolerated, easily usable and strongly accepted by human subjects, which will facilitate further clinical translation of this technology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Marble-Hand Illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senna, Irene; Maravita, Angelo; Bolognini, Nadia; Parise, Cesare V

    2014-01-01

    Our body is made of flesh and bones. We know it, and in our daily lives all the senses constantly provide converging information about this simple, factual truth. But is this always the case? Here we report a surprising bodily illusion demonstrating that humans rapidly update their assumptions about the material qualities of their body, based on their recent multisensory perceptual experience. To induce a misperception of the material properties of the hand, we repeatedly gently hit participants' hand with a small hammer, while progressively replacing the natural sound of the hammer against the skin with the sound of a hammer hitting a piece of marble. After five minutes, the hand started feeling stiffer, heavier, harder, less sensitive, unnatural, and showed enhanced Galvanic skin response (GSR) to threatening stimuli. Notably, such a change in skin conductivity positively correlated with changes in perceived hand stiffness. Conversely, when hammer hits and impact sounds were temporally uncorrelated, participants did not spontaneously report any changes in the perceived properties of the hand, nor did they show any modulation in GSR. In two further experiments, we ruled out that mere audio-tactile synchrony is the causal factor triggering the illusion, further demonstrating the key role of material information conveyed by impact sounds in modulating the perceived material properties of the hand. This novel bodily illusion, the 'Marble-Hand Illusion', demonstrates that the perceived material of our body, surely the most stable attribute of our bodily self, can be quickly updated through multisensory integration.

  17. New reflections on agency and body ownership: The moving rubber hand illusion in the mirror.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkinson, Paul M; Preston, Catherine

    2015-05-01

    No previous study has simultaneously examined body ownership and agency in healthy subjects during mirror self-observation. We used a moving rubber hand illusion to examine how both body ownership and agency are affected by seeing (i) the body moving in a mirror, compared with (ii) directly viewing the moving hand, and (iii) seeing a visually identical hand rotated by 180°. We elicited ownership of the hand using direct visual feedback, finding this effect was further enhanced when looking at the hand in a mirror, whereas rotating the hand 180° abolished ownership. Agency was similarly elicited using direct visual feedback, and equally so in the mirror, but again reduced for the 180° hand. We conclude that the reflected body in a mirror is treated as 'special' in the mind, and distinct from other external objects. This enables bodies and actions viewed in a mirror to be directly related to the self. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. GPU accelerated left/right hand-segmentation in first person vision

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Betancourt Arango, A.; Marcenaro, L.; Barakova, E.I.; Rauterberg, M.; Regazzoni, C.S.; Hua, G.; Jegou, H.

    2016-01-01

    Wearable cameras allow users to record their daily activities from a user-centered (First Person Vision) perspective. Due to their favourable location, they frequently capture the hands of the user, and may thus represent a promising user-machine interaction tool for different applications. Existent

  19. Line and word bisection in right-brain-damaged patients with left spatial neglect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veronelli, Laura; Vallar, Giuseppe; Marinelli, Chiara V; Primativo, Silvia; Arduino, Lisa S

    2014-01-01

    Right-brain-damaged patients with left unilateral spatial neglect typically set the mid-point of horizontal lines to the right of the objective center. By contrast, healthy participants exhibit a reversed bias (pseudoneglect). The same effect has been described also when bisecting orthographic strings. In particular, for this latter kind of stimulus, some recent studies have shown that visuo-perceptual characteristics, like stimulus length, may contribute to both the magnitude and the direction bias of the bisection performance (Arduino et al. in Neuropsychologia 48:2140-2146, 2010). Furthermore, word stress was shown to modulate reading performances in both healthy participants, and patients with left spatial neglect and neglect dyslexia (Cubelli and Beschin in Brain Lang 95:319-326, 2005; Rusconi et al. in Neuropsychology 18:135-140, 2004). In Experiment I, 22 right-brain-damaged patients (11 with left visuo-spatial neglect) and 11 matched neurologically unimpaired control participants were asked to set the subjective mid-point of word letter strings, and of lines of comparable length. Most patients exhibited an overall disproportionate rightward bias, sensitive to stimulus length, and similar for words and lines. Importantly, in individual patients, biases differed according to stimulus type (words vs. lines), indicating that at least partly different mechanisms may be involved. In Experiment II, the putative effects on the bisection bias of ortho-phonological information (i.e., word stress endings), arising from the non-neglected right hand side of the stimulus were investigated. The orthographic cue induced a rightward shift of the perceived mid-point in both patients and controls, with short words stressed on the antepenultimate final sequence inducing a smaller rightward deviation with respect to short words stressed on the penultimate final sequence. In conclusion, partly different mechanisms, including both visuo-spatial and lexical factors, may support

  20. The influence of speed and grade on wheelchair propulsion hand pattern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slowik, Jonathan S; Requejo, Philip S; Mulroy, Sara J; Neptune, Richard R

    2015-11-01

    The hand pattern used during manual wheelchair propulsion (i.e., full-cycle hand path) can provide insight into an individual's propulsion technique. However, previous analyses of hand patterns have been limited by their focus on a single propulsion condition and reliance on subjective qualitative characterization methods. The purpose of this study was to develop a set of objective quantitative parameters to characterize hand patterns and determine the influence of propulsion speed and grade of incline on the patterns preferred by manual wheelchair users. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected from 170 experienced manual wheelchair users on an ergometer during three conditions: level propulsion at their self-selected speed, level propulsion at their fastest comfortable speed and graded propulsion (8%) at their level self-selected speed. Hand patterns were quantified using a set of objective parameters, and differences across conditions were identified. Increased propulsion speed resulted in a shift away from under-rim hand patterns. Increased grade of incline resulted in the hand remaining near the handrim throughout the cycle. Manual wheelchair users change their hand pattern based on task-specific constraints and goals. Further work is needed to investigate how differences between hand patterns influence upper extremity demand and potentially lead to the development of overuse injuries and pain. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Early intensive hand rehabilitation after spinal cord injury ("Hands On": a protocol for a randomised controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsueh Ya-Seng

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Loss of hand function is one of the most devastating consequences of spinal cord injury. Intensive hand training provided on an instrumented exercise workstation in conjunction with functional electrical stimulation may enhance neural recovery and hand function. The aim of this trial is to compare usual care with an 8-week program of intensive hand training and functional electrical stimulation. Methods/design A multicentre randomised controlled trial will be undertaken. Seventy-eight participants with recent tetraplegia (C2 to T1 motor complete or incomplete undergoing inpatient rehabilitation will be recruited from seven spinal cord injury units in Australia and New Zealand and will be randomised to a control or experimental group. Control participants will receive usual care. Experimental participants will receive usual care and an 8-week program of intensive unilateral hand training using an instrumented exercise workstation and functional electrical stimulation. Participants will drive the functional electrical stimulation of their target hands via a behind-the-ear bluetooth device, which is sensitive to tooth clicks. The bluetooth device will enable the use of various manipulanda to practice functional activities embedded within computer-based games and activities. Training will be provided for one hour, 5 days per week, during the 8-week intervention period. The primary outcome is the Action Research Arm Test. Secondary outcomes include measurements of strength, sensation, function, quality of life and cost effectiveness. All outcomes will be taken at baseline, 8 weeks, 6 months and 12 months by assessors blinded to group allocation. Recruitment commenced in December 2009. Discussion The results of this trial will determine the effectiveness of an 8-week program of intensive hand training with functional electrical stimulation. Trial registration NCT01086930 (12th March 2010 ACTRN12609000695202 (12th August 2009

  2. Early intensive hand rehabilitation after spinal cord injury ("Hands On"): a protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey, Lisa A; Dunlop, Sarah A; Churilov, Leonid; Hsueh, Ya-Seng Arthur; Galea, Mary P

    2011-01-17

    Loss of hand function is one of the most devastating consequences of spinal cord injury. Intensive hand training provided on an instrumented exercise workstation in conjunction with functional electrical stimulation may enhance neural recovery and hand function. The aim of this trial is to compare usual care with an 8-week program of intensive hand training and functional electrical stimulation. A multicentre randomised controlled trial will be undertaken. Seventy-eight participants with recent tetraplegia (C2 to T1 motor complete or incomplete) undergoing inpatient rehabilitation will be recruited from seven spinal cord injury units in Australia and New Zealand and will be randomised to a control or experimental group. Control participants will receive usual care. Experimental participants will receive usual care and an 8-week program of intensive unilateral hand training using an instrumented exercise workstation and functional electrical stimulation. Participants will drive the functional electrical stimulation of their target hands via a behind-the-ear bluetooth device, which is sensitive to tooth clicks. The bluetooth device will enable the use of various manipulanda to practice functional activities embedded within computer-based games and activities. Training will be provided for one hour, 5 days per week, during the 8-week intervention period. The primary outcome is the Action Research Arm Test. Secondary outcomes include measurements of strength, sensation, function, quality of life and cost effectiveness. All outcomes will be taken at baseline, 8 weeks, 6 months and 12 months by assessors blinded to group allocation. Recruitment commenced in December 2009. The results of this trial will determine the effectiveness of an 8-week program of intensive hand training with functional electrical stimulation. NCT01086930 (12th March 2010)ACTRN12609000695202 (12th August 2009).

  3. Hand osteoarthritis: Clinical and imaging study

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abir Naguib

    2011-09-09

    Sep 9, 2011 ... Methods: This study was carried out on thirty patients with primary hand OA, and fifteen healthy subjects .... history about their hand condition including morning stiffness, ..... They found the US method of direct visualiza-.

  4. Efficacy of paraffin bath therapy in hand osteoarthritis: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dilek, Banu; Gözüm, Mehtap; Şahin, Ebru; Baydar, Meltem; Ergör, Gül; El, Ozlem; Bircan, Çigdem; Gülbahar, Selmin

    2013-04-01

    To evaluate the efficacy of paraffin bath therapy on pain, function, and muscle strength in patients with hand osteoarthritis. Prospective single-blinded randomized controlled trial. Department of physical medicine and rehabilitation in a university hospital. Patients with bilateral hand osteoarthritis (N=56). Patients were randomized into 2 groups with a random number table by using block randomization with 4 patients in a block. Group 1 (n=29) had paraffin bath therapy (5 times per week, for 3-week duration) for both hands. Group 2 (n=27) was the control group. All patients were informed about joint-protection techniques, and paracetamol intake was recorded. The primary outcome measures were pain (at last 48h) at rest and during activities of daily living (ADL), assessed with a visual analog scale (0-10cm) at 12 weeks. The secondary outcome measures were the Australian Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN) and the Dreiser Functional Index (DFI), used for subjective functional evaluation, loss of range of motion (ROM), grip and pinch strength, painful and tender joint counts, and paracetamol intake. A researcher blind to group allocation recorded the measures for both hands at baseline, 3 weeks, and 12 weeks at the hospital setting. At baseline, there were no significant differences between groups in any of the parameters (P>.05). After treatment, the paraffin group exhibited significant improvement in pain at rest and during ADL, ROM of the right hand, and pain and stiffness dimensions of the AUSCAN (P.05). The control group showed a significant deterioration in right hand grip and bilateral lateral pinch and right chuck pinch strength (Pparaffin group (Pparaffin group were significantly higher than the control group at 12 weeks (PParaffin bath therapy seemed to be effective both in reducing pain and tenderness and maintaining muscle strength in hand osteoarthritis. It may be regarded as a beneficial short-term therapy option, which is effective for a 12

  5. Impact of environmental olfactory cues on hand hygiene behaviour in a simulated hospital environment: a randomized study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birnbach, D J; King, D; Vlaev, I; Rosen, L F; Harvey, P D

    2013-09-01

    This study investigated the impact of a fresh scent on the rate of hand hygiene compliance (HHC) among novice healthcare providers. In all, 165 participants examined a standardized patient with one sample exposed to fresh scent (N = 79) and the other exposed to the standard environment (N = 86). Hand hygiene behaviours were tracked before patient contact using video surveillance. The standard environment group had an HHC rate of 51% whereas participants in the fresh scent group had a higher HHC rate of 80% (P behaviour may be subconsciously influenced by cues in the environment. © 2013 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Predisposition to out-of-body experience (OBE) is associated with aberrations in multisensory integration: Psychophysiological support from a "rubber hand illusion" study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braithwaite, Jason J; Watson, Derrick G; Dewe, Hayley

    2017-06-01

    It has been argued that disorders in body-ownership and aberrant experiences in self-consciousness are due to biases in multisensory integration. Here we examine whether such biases are also associated with spontaneous out-of-body experiences (OBEs) in a nonclinical population. One-hundred and 80 participants took part in a rubber hand illusion (RHI) experiment with synchronous and asynchronous visual and tactile stimulation. A realistic threat was delivered to the rubber hand after a fixed period of stimulation. Self-report exit questionnaires measured the subjective strength of the illusion and psychophysiological measures (skin conductance responses/finger temperature) provided an objective index of fear/anxiety toward the threat. Control participants reported a stronger RHI, and revealed larger threat-related skin conductance responses during synchronous compared with asynchronous brushing. For participants predisposed to OBEs, the magnitude of the skin conductance was not influenced by brushing synchrony-fear responses were just as strong in the asynchronous condition as they were in the synchronous condition. There were also no reliable effects of finger temperature for either group. Collectively, these findings are taken as support for the presence of particular biases in multisensory integration (perhaps via predictive coding mechanisms) in which imprecise top-down tuning occurs resulting in aberrant experiences in self-consciousness even in nonclinical hallucinators. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. Ethical and educational considerations in coding hand surgeries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lifchez, Scott D; Leinberry, Charles F; Rivlin, Michael; Blazar, Philip E

    2014-07-01

    To assess treatment coding knowledge and practices among residents, fellows, and attending hand surgeons. Through the use of 6 hypothetical cases, we developed a coding survey to assess coding knowledge and practices. We e-mailed this survey to residents, fellows, and attending hand surgeons. In additionally, we asked 2 professional coders to code these cases. A total of 71 participants completed the survey out of 134 people to whom the survey was sent (response rate = 53%). We observed marked disparity in codes chosen among surgeons and among professional coders. Results of this study indicate that coding knowledge, not just its ethical application, had a major role in coding procedures accurately. Surgical coding is an essential part of a hand surgeon's practice and is not well learned during residency or fellowship. Whereas ethical issues such as deliberate unbundling and upcoding may have a role in inaccurate coding, lack of knowledge among surgeons and coders has a major role as well. Coding has a critical role in every hand surgery practice. Inconstancies among those polled in this study reveal that an increase in education on coding during training and improvement in the clarity and consistency of the Current Procedural Terminology coding rules themselves are needed. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Differential operators in a Clifford analysis associated to differential equations with anti-monogenic right-hand sides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen Thanh Van

    2006-12-01

    This paper deals with the initial value problem of the type φw / φt = L (t, x, w, φw / φx i ) (1) w(0, x) = φ(x) (2) where t is the time, L is a linear first order operator in a Clifford Analysis and φ is a generalized monogenic function. We give sufficient conditions on the coefficients of operator L under which L is associated to differential equations with anti-monogenic right-hand sides. For such operator L the initial problem (1),(2) is solvable for an arbitrary generalized monogenic initial function φ and the solution is also generalized monogenic for each t. (author)

  9. Magnetotherapy in hand osteoarthritis: a pilot trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanat, Elvan; Alp, Alev; Yurtkuran, Merih

    2013-12-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of magnetotherapy in the treatment of hand osteoarthritis (HO). In this randomized controlled single-blind follow-up study, patients with HO were randomly assigned into 2 groups (G1 and G2). The subjects in G1 (n=25) received 25Hz, 450 pulse/s, 5-80G, magnetotherapy of totally 10 days and 20 min/day combined with active range of motion/strengthening exercises for the hand. G2 (n=25) received sham-magnetotherapy for 20 min/day for the same duration combined with the same hand exercises. Outcome measures were pain and joint stiffness evaluation, handgrip and pinchgrip strength (HPS), Duruöz and Auscan Hand Osteoarthritis Indexes (DAOI) and Short Form-36 Health Questionnaire (SF-36) administered at baseline, immediately after treatment and at the follow up. When the groups were compared with each other, improvement observed in SF-36 Pain (p<0.001), SF-36 Social Function (p=0.030), SF-36 Vitality (p=0.002), SF-36 General Health (p=0.001), Pain at rest (p<0.001), Pain at motion (p<0.001), Joint stiffness (p<0.001), DAOI (p<0.001) were in favor of G1. Changes in pain, function and quality of life scores showed significant advantage in favor of the applied electromagnetic intervention in patients with HO. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Right-Handed Helical Foldamers Consisting of De Novo d -AApeptides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Teng, Peng; Ma, Ning; Cerrato, Darrell Cole; She, Fengyu; Odom, Timothy; Wang, Xiang; Ming, Li-June; van der Vaart, Arjan; Wojtas, Lukasz; Xu, Hai; Cai, Jianfeng

    2017-05-16

    New types of foldamer scaffolds are formidably challenging to design and synthesize, yet highly desirable as structural mimics of peptides/proteins with a wide repertoire of functions. In particular, the development of peptidomimetic helical foldamers holds promise for new biomaterials, catalysts, and drug molecules. Unnatural l-sulfono-γ-AApeptides were recently developed and shown to have potential applications in both biomedical and material sciences. However, d-sulfono-γ-AApeptides, the enantiomers of l-sulfono-γ-AApeptides, have never been studied due to the lack of high-resolution three-dimensional structures to guide structure-based design. Herein, we report the first synthesis and X-ray crystal structures of a series of 2:1 l-amino acid/d-sulfono-γ-AApeptide hybrid foldamers, and elucidate their folded conformation at the atomic level. Single-crystal X-ray crystallography indicates that this class of oligomers folds into well-defined right-handed helices with unique helical parameters. The helical structures were consistent with data obtained from solution 2D NMR, CD studies, and molecular dynamics simulations. Our findings are expected to inspire the structure-based design of this type of unique folding biopolymers for biomaterials and biomedical applications.

  11. Hand hygiene in emergency medical services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teter, Jonathan; Millin, Michael G; Bissell, Rick

    2015-01-01

    Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) affect millions of patients annually (World Health Organization. Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Healthcare. Geneva: WHO Press; 2009). Hand hygiene compliance of clinical staff has been identified by numerous studies as a major contributing factor to HAIs around the world. Infection control and hand hygiene in the prehospital environment can also contribute to patient harm and spread of infections. Emergency medical services (EMS) practitioners are not monitored as closely as hospital personnel in terms of hand hygiene training and compliance. Their ever-changing work environment is less favorable to traditional hospital-based aseptic techniques and education. This study aimed to determine the current state of hand hygiene practices among EMS providers and to provide recommendations for improving practices in the emergency health services environment. This study was a prospective, observational prevalence study and survey, conducted over a 2-month period. We selected participants from visits to three selected hospital emergency departments in the mid-Atlantic region. There were two data components to the study: a participant survey and hand swabs for pathogenic cultures. This study recruited a total sample of 62 participants. Overall, the study revealed that a significant number of EMS providers (77%) have a heavy bacterial load on their hands after patient care. All levels of providers had a similar distribution of bacterial load. Survey results revealed that few providers perform hand hygiene before (34%) or in between patients (24%), as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. This study demonstrates that EMS providers are potential vectors of microorganisms if proper hand hygiene is not performed properly. Since EMS providers treat a variety of patients and operate in a variety of environments, providers may be exposed to potentially pathogenic organisms, serving as vectors for the exposure of

  12. Proprioceptive evoked potentials in man: cerebral responses to changing weight loads on the hand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arnfred, S; He, Chen; Eder, D

    2000-01-01

    We studied cerebral evoked potentials on the scalp to the stimulation of the right hand from a change in weight of 400-480 g in ten subjects. Rise-time was 20g/10 ms, Inter Stimulus Interval 2s and stimulus duration was 100 ms. The cerebral activations were a double positive contralateral C3'/P70...

  13. Golf hand prosthesis performance of transradial amputees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, Stephanie L; Wernke, Matthew M; Lura, Derek J; Kahle, Jason T; Dubey, Rajiv V; Highsmith, M Jason

    2015-06-01

    Typical upper limb prostheses may limit sports participation; therefore, specialized terminal devices are often needed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of transradial amputees to play golf using a specialized terminal device. Club head speed, X-factor, and elbow motion of two individuals with transradial amputations using an Eagle Golf terminal device were compared to a non-amputee during a golf swing. Measurements were collected pre/post training with various stances and grips. Both prosthesis users preferred a right-handed stance initially; however, after training, one preferred a left-handed stance. The amputees had slower club head speeds and a lower X-factor compared to the non-amputee golfer, but increased their individual elbow motion on the prosthetic side after training. Amputees enjoyed using the device, and it may provide kinematic benefits indicated by the increase in elbow flexion on the prosthetic side. The transradial amputees were able to swing a golf club with sufficient repetition, form, and velocity to play golf recreationally. Increased elbow flexion on the prosthetic side suggests a potential benefit from using the Eagle Golf terminal device. Participating in recreational sports can increase amputees' health and quality of life. © The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics 2014.

  14. Hand hygiene of medical students and resident physicians: predictors of attitudes and behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barroso, Violeta; Caceres, Wendy; Loftus, Pooja; Evans, Kambria H; Shieh, Lisa

    2016-09-01

    We measured medical students' and resident trainees' hand hygiene behaviour, knowledge and attitudes in order to identify important predictors of hand hygiene behaviour in this population. An anonymous, web-based questionnaire was distributed to medical students and residents at Stanford University School of Medicine in August of 2012. The questionnaire included questions regarding participants' behaviour, knowledge, attitude and experiences about hand hygiene. Behaviour, knowledge and attitude indices were scaled from 0 to 1, with 1 representing superior responses. Using multivariate regression, we identified positive and negative predictors of superior hand hygiene behaviour. We investigated effectiveness of interventions, barriers and comfort reminding others. 280 participants (111 students and 169 residents) completed the questionnaire (response rate 27.8%). Residents and medical students reported hand hygiene behaviour compliance of 0.45 and 0.55, respectively (p=0.02). Resident and medical student knowledge was 0.80 and 0.73, respectively (p=0.001). The attitude index for residents was 0.56 and 0.55 for medical students. Regression analysis identified experiences as predictors of hand hygiene behaviour (both positive and negative influence). Knowledge was not a significant predictor of behaviour, but a working gel dispenser and observing attending physicians with good hand hygiene practices were reported by both groups as the most effective strategy in influencing trainees. Medical students and residents have similar attitudes about hand hygiene, but differ in their level of knowledge and compliance. Concerns about hierarchy may have a significant negative impact on hand hygiene advocacy. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  15. Home-Schools and Interscholastic Sports: Denying Participation Violates United States Constitutional Due Process and Equal Protection Rights. Chalk Talk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Derwin L.

    1997-01-01

    Participation in sports, in some instances, is considered a right which grants students the opportunity to be involved in extracurricular activities. Discusses the potential violation of home-schooled students' constitutional due process and equal protection rights and the pertinent laws regarding students and their ability to participate in…

  16. Development of the bedridden person support system using hand gesture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichimura, Kouhei; Magatani, Kazushige

    2015-08-01

    The purpose of this study is to support the bedridden and physically handicapped person who live independently. In this study, we developed Electric appliances control system that can be used on the bed. The subject can control Electric appliances using hand motion. Infrared sensors of a Kinect are used for the hand motion detection. Our developed system was tested with some normal subjects and results of the experiment were evaluated. In this experiment, all subjects laid on the bed and tried to control our system. As results, most of subjects were able to control our developed system perfectly. However, motion tracking of some subject's hand was reset forcibly. It was difficult for these subjects to make the system recognize his opened hand. From these results, we think if this problem will be improved our support system will be useful for the bedridden and physically handicapped persons.

  17. Relationship between the Short-Term Visual Memory and IQ in the Right-and Left-Handed Subjects Trained in Different Educational Programs: I-General Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, Yavuz; Yetkin, Yalçin

    2014-01-01

    The relationship between mean intelligence quotient (IQ), hand preferences and visual memory (VM) were investigated on (N = 612) males and females students trained in different educational programs in viewpoint of laterality. IQ was assessed by cattle's culture Fair intelligence test-A (CCFIT-A). The laterality of the one side of the body was…

  18. Nudging to improve hand hygiene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caris, M G; Labuschagne, H A; Dekker, M; Kramer, M H H; van Agtmael, M A; Vandenbroucke-Grauls, C M J E

    2018-04-01

    Hand hygiene is paramount to prevent healthcare-associated infections, but improving compliance is challenging. When healthcare workers seldom encounter healthcare-associated infections, they will consider the odds of causing infections through poor hand hygiene negligible. Cognitive biases such as these may induce non-compliance. Nudging, 'a friendly push to encourage desired behaviour', could provide an easily implemented, inexpensive measure to address cognitive biases and thus support hand hygiene interventions. To investigate whether behavioural nudges, displayed as posters, can increase the use of alcohol-based hand rub. We developed nudges based on a systematic review of previously described cognitive biases, and tested these through a cross-sectional survey among the target audience. We then conducted a controlled before-after trial on two hospital wards, to assess the effect of these nudges on the use of alcohol-based hand rub, measured with electronic dispensers. Poisson regression analyses adjusted for workload showed that nudges displayed next to dispensers increased their overall use on one ward [poster 1: relative risk: 1.6 (95% confidence interval: 1.2-2.2); poster 2: 1.7 (1.2-2.5)] and during doctor's rounds on both wards [poster 1: ward A: 1.7 (1.1-2.6); ward B: 2.2 (1.3-3.8)]. Use of dispensers without adjacent nudges did not increase. Nudges based on cognitive biases that play a role in hand hygiene, and displayed as posters, could provide an easy, inexpensive measure to increase use of alcohol-based hand rub. When applying nudges to change behaviour, it is important to identify the right nudge for the right audience. Copyright © 2017 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. One plunge or two?--hand disinfection with alcohol gel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macdonald, Duncan J M; Mckillop, Elisabeth C A; Trotter, Sylvia; Gray, Alastair J R

    2006-04-01

    To compare health care workers' hand surface coverage using two different volumes of alcohol gel for hand disinfection. and methods. A total of 84 members of staff in our hospital were studied. Subjects were asked to disinfect their hands with alcohol gel containing a clear fluorescent substance. Performance was assessed by using UV light to identify areas which had been missed, and the total surface area missed was calculated. A total of 42 subjects received 3.5 ml of alcohol gel, and 42 age-, sex-, and job-matched subjects received 1.75 ml of alcohol gel. Significantly less area was missed when hand disinfecting with double the volume of alcohol gel; 1.23 versus 6.35% surface area was missed (P disinfection significantly improves the efficiency of coverage of the hands with alcohol gel. This may result in lower bacterial count on the hands and may reduce the spread of nosocomial infections including that of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

  20. A Double-Coil TMS Method to Assess Corticospinal Excitability Changes at a Near-Simultaneous Time in the Two Hands during Movement Preparation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilhelm, Emmanuelle; Quoilin, Caroline; Petitjean, Charlotte; Duque, Julie

    2016-01-01

    Background: Many previous transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have investigated corticospinal excitability changes occurring when choosing which hand to use for an action, one of the most frequent decision people make in daily life. So far, these studies have applied single-pulse TMS eliciting motor-evoked potential (MEP) in one hand when this hand is either selected or non-selected. Using such method, hand choices were shown to entail the operation of two inhibitory mechanisms, suppressing MEPs in the targeted hand either when it is non-selected (competition resolution, CR) or selected (impulse control, IC). However, an important limitation of this “Single-Coil” method is that MEPs are elicited in selected and non-selected conditions during separate trials and thus those two settings may not be completely comparable. Moreover, a more important problem is that MEPs are computed in relation to the movement of different hands. The goal of the present study was to test a “Double-Coil” method to evaluate IC and CR preceding the same hand responses by applying Double-Coil TMS over the two primary motor cortices (M1) at a near-simultaneous time (1 ms inter-pulse interval). Methods: MEPs were obtained in the left (MEPLEFT) and right (MEPRIGHT) hands while subjects chose between left and right hand key-presses in blocks using a Single-Coil or a Double-Coil method; in the latter blocks, TMS was either applied over left M1 first (TMSLRM1 group, n = 12) or right M1 first (TMSRLM1 group, n = 12). Results: MEPLEFT were suppressed preceding both left (IC) and right (CR) hand responses whereas MEPRIGHT were only suppressed preceding left (CR) but not right (IC) hand responses. This result was observed regardless of whether Single-Coil or Double-Coil TMS was applied in the two subject groups. However, in the TMSLRM1 group, the MEP suppression was attenuated in Double-Coil compared to Single-Coil blocks for both IC and CR, when probed with MEPLEFT (elicited by