To Experience or to Be Informed? Classical Conditioning Induces Nocebo Hyperalgesia even when Placebo Analgesia Is Verbally Suggested—Results of a Preliminary Study

Objective To investigate whether direct experience (i.e., classical conditioning) or verbal suggestion is more important in inducing nocebo hyperalgesia, five groups (total sample size, N = 99) were studied: conditioning, congruent conditioning, incongruent conditioning, verbal suggestion, and control. Methods Participants in groups with conditioning experienced more intensive pain stimuli after presentation of a white circle. In the congruent conditioning group, suggestion that the circle would precede more intensive pain stimuli was additionally provided, whereas in the incongruent conditioning group, the opposite suggestion was used. Control and verbal suggestion groups received pain stimuli of one intensity; however, the latter received suggestion that a circle would precede pain stimuli of higher intensity. Results The nocebo effect was observed in all conditioning groups, regardless of the verbal suggestions used. Moreover, the experience of hyperalgesia was able to nullify the effect of the verbal suggestion of analgesia. Incongruence between verbal suggestion and pain experience produced expectancies that affected nocebo hyperalgesia. Conclusions The results of this preliminary study suggest that direct experience seems to be more important than verbal suggestion in inducing nocebo hyperalgesia.

Interactions Between Auditory Elevation, Auditory Pitch and Visual Elevation During Multisensory Perception

Cross-modal correspondences refer to associations between apparently unrelated stimulus features in different senses. For example, high and low auditory pitches are associated with high and low visual elevations, respectively. Here we examined how this crossmodal correspondence between visual elevation and auditory pitch relates to auditory elevation. We used audiovisual combinations of high- or low-frequency bursts of white noise and a visual stimulus comprising a white circle. Auditory and visual stimuli could each occur at high or low elevations. These multisensory stimuli could be congruent or incongruent for three correspondence types: cross-modal featural (auditory pitch/visual elevation), within-modal featural (auditory pitch/auditory elevation) and cross-modal spatial (auditory and visual elevation). Participants performed a 2AFC speeded classification (high or low) task while attending to auditory pitch, auditory elevation, or visual elevation. We tested for modulatory interactions between the three correspondence types. Modulatory interactions were absent when discriminating visual elevation. However, the within-modal featural correspondence affected the cross-modal featural correspondence during discrimination of auditory elevation and pitch, while the reverse modulation was observed only during discrimination of auditory pitch. The cross-modal spatial correspondence modulated the other two correspondences only when auditory elevation was being attended, was modulated by the cross-modal featural correspondence only during attention to auditory pitch, and was modulated by the within-modal featural correspondence while performing discrimination of either auditory elevation or pitch. We conclude that the cross-modal correspondence between auditory pitch and visual elevation interacts strongly with auditory elevation.

A Novel Method of Mobile Robot Fire Detection and Tracing Using Proportional Derivative (PD) Algorithm

One of the problems in intelligent mobile robot fire fighting contest is how the robot can find and can extinguish a fire without alot of sensors. The fire is located in a white circle area at one of the corner in room with random combinations. The way to solve this problems is conventional method-called-wall tracing. The robot uses wall tracing method to navigate, when entering the room this method still in used by the robot until its find the fire spot then uses one additional sensor to detect the white circle area where the fire located at. After detecting the white circle area, the robot will extinguishes the fire. This paper proposed a new method as optimization of conventional method. The proposed method is implementation of current algorithm (proportional derivatives algorithm) not only to wall tracing but also to TPA81 sensor (fire tracing) -called-wall and fire tracing method. Furthermore, this method is combination method between wall tracing and fire tracing. The robot will approach directly to the fire without wall tracing and without detecting white circle area. Then, the robot extinguishes the fire quickly. The robot uses only TPA81 sensor that can be used to detects the fire spot and its position in the room. Test result shows that 50% of the fire position variation on Indonesian Intelligent Robot Contest can be optimized using this method.

Modeling a Sensor to Improve Its Efficacy

Robots rely on sensors to provide them with information about their surroundings. However, high-quality sensors can be extremely expensive and cost-prohibitive. Thus many robotic systems must make due with lower-quality sensors. Here we demonstrate via a case study how modeling a sensor can improve its efficacy when employed within a Bayesian inferential framework. As a test bed we employ a robotic arm that is designed to autonomously take its own measurements using an inexpensive LEGO light sensor to estimate the position and radius of a white circle on a black field. The light sensor integrates the light arriving from a spatially distributed region within its field of view weighted by its spatial sensitivity function (SSF). We demonstrate that by incorporating an accurate model of the light sensor SSF into the likelihood function of a Bayesian inference engine, an autonomous system can make improved inferences about its surroundings. The method presented here is data based, fairly general, and made with plug-and-play in mind so that it could be implemented in similar problems.

Speeding up an Internal Clock in Children? Effects of Visual Flicker on Subjective Duration

Children of 3, 5, and 8 years of age were trained on a temporal bisection task where visual stimuli in the form of blue circles of 200 and 800 ms or 400 and 1600 ms duration, preceded by a 5-s white circle, served as the short and long standards. Following discrimination training between the standards, stimuli in the ranges 200-800 ms or 400-1600 ms were presented with the white circle either constant or flickering. Relative to the constant white circle, the flicker (1) increased the proportion of “long” responses (responses appropriate to the long standard), (2) shifted the psychophysical functions to the left, (3) decreased bisection point values, at all ages, and (4) did not systematically affect measures of temporal sensitivity, such as difference limen and Weber ratio. The results were consistent with the idea that the repetitive flicker had increased the speed of the pacemaker of an internal clock in children as young as 3 years. The “pacemaker speed” interpretation of the results was further strengthened by a greater effect of flicker in the 400/1600-ms condition than in the 200/800-ms condition.

Dynamical Behavior of Voids in Neutron-irradiated Copper at Elevated Temperature

ABSTRACTWe reported previously an experimental result which shows that voids can move in neutron-irradiated copper at elevated temperature. To study the detailed behavior of voids, we carried out annealing experiments and in-situ observations in neutron-irradiated copper. Neutron irradiation was carried out in the temperature controlled capsule at KUR (Kyoto University Reactor). Neutron irradiation was performed at 300°C to damage levels between 10-4 to 10-3 dpa. The annealing temperature was 250°C for 10, 20, 30 min sequentially for neutron- irradiated copper. After annealing TEM observation was carried out at room temperature. Experimental results show that voids moved along the [110] direction. Voids moved during 250°C annealing but small stacking fault tetrahedra (SFT) were not changed. We observed 37 voids and 8 voids moved, the others vanished during annealing. The images of in-situ observation, void contrast images were recorded on VTR tape and analyzed frame by frame. At room temperature observation voids were static and were seen as white circles; however at 300°C the contrast changed to an oval shape and sometimes disappeared. After 7 sec contrast was a white circle and moved slightly and similar phenomena were observed quite frequently at 300°C. It is concluded that void moved with dynamical structural relaxation at elevated temperature.

Art. V.—The Bṛhat-Saṅhitâ; or, Complete System of Natural Astrology of Varâha-mihira

1. I will tell the lucky and evil signs of goats. Such as have eight, nine, or ten teeth, are lucky, and may be kept; such as have seven teeth, should be removed.2. A black circle on the right side of a white goat is a favourable mark. Likewise a white circle on the right side of one having the colour of an elk, of sable hue, or red.3. The udderlike part hanging down from the neck of goats is known by the name of “neck ornament.” A goat with one dewlap brings happiness; extremely lucky are those having two or three dewlaps.4. All goats without horns, and those that are entirely white or entirely black, promise good. Lucky also are such as are half black, half white; or half russet, half black.5. A goat that marches in front of the flock, and the first that plunges into water, — that has the head white, or blazes on the forehead, — is favourable.