Search results for "Movement"
showing 10 items of 2021 documents
Time scales of adaptive behavior and motor learning in the presence of stochastic perturbations.
2009
In this paper, the major assumptions of influential approaches to the structure of variability in practice conditions are discussed from the perspective of a generalized evolving attractor landscape model of motor learning. The efficacy of the practice condition effects is considered in relation to the theoretical influence of stochastic perturbations in models of gradient descent learning of multiple dimension landscapes. A model for motor learning is presented combining simulated annealing and stochastic resonance phenomena against the background of different time scales for adaptation and learning processes. The practical consequences of the model's assumptions for the structure of pract…
Quantitative Alexandrov theorem and asymptotic behavior of the volume preserving mean curvature flow
2020
We prove a new quantitative version of the Alexandrov theorem which states that if the mean curvature of a regular set in Rn+1 is close to a constant in the Ln sense, then the set is close to a union of disjoint balls with respect to the Hausdorff distance. This result is more general than the previous quantifications of the Alexandrov theorem, and using it we are able to show that in R2 and R3 a weak solution of the volume preserving mean curvature flow starting from a set of finite perimeter asymptotically convergences to a disjoint union of equisize balls, up to possible translations. Here by a weak solution we mean a flat flow, obtained via the minimizing movements scheme. peerReviewed
Dynamic DNA Origami Devices
2018
DNA nanotechnology provides an excellent foundation for diverse nanoscale structures that can be used in various bioapplications and materials research. Among all existing DNA assembly techniques, DNA origami proves to be the most robust one for creating custom nanoshapes. Since its invention in 2006, building from the bottom up using DNA advanced drastically, and therefore, more and more complex DNA-based systems became accessible. So far, the vast majority of the demonstrated DNA origami frameworks are static by nature; however, there also exist dynamic DNA origami devices that are increasingly coming into view. In this review, we discuss DNA origami nanostructures that exhibit controlled…
Attentional biases toward emotional images in the different episodes of bipolar disorder: an eye-tracking study.
2014
Attentional biases toward emotional information may represent vulnerability and maintenance factors in bipolar disorder (BD). The present experimental study examined the processing of emotional information in BD patients using the eye-tracking technology. Bipolar patients in their different states (euthymia, mania, depression) simultaneously viewed four pictures with different emotional valence (happy, neutral, sad, threatening) for 20 s while their eye movements were monitored. A group of healthy individuals served as the control. The data revealed the following: (i) a decrease in attention to happy images in BD patients in their depressive episodes compared to healthy individuals, and (ii…
Physical exercise adherence in Finnish children using a music mat: a pilot study
2020
A growing number of studies has shown that informal musical activities, such as singing, playing an instrument, and musical play at home, are positively associated with children’s health. This paper examines the associations between fourteen 4–6-year-old children’s and their parents’ exercise activity, children’s musical and their exercise adherence when using a music mat over an eight-week period in the home environment. Our results show that most of the children moved on the mat breezily and briskly. The parents assessed that exercises required balance and movement control more than endurance or strength. Spearman’s rank-order correlation showed a strong, positive correlation between the …
Coastal Evolution in a Mediterranean Microtidal Zone: Mid to Late Holocene Natural Dynamics and Human Management of the Castellò Lagoon, NE Spain
2016
We present a palaeoenvironmental study of the Castelló lagoon (NE Spain), an important archive for understanding long-term interactions between dynamic littoral ecosystems and human management. Combining geochemistry, mineralogy, ostracods, diatoms, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, charcoal and archaeo-historical datasets we reconstruct: 1) the transition of the lagoon from a marine to a marginal environment between ~3150 cal BC to the 17th century AD; 2) fluctuations in salinity; and 3) natural and anthropogenic forces contributing to these changes. From the Late Neolithic to the Medieval period the lagoon ecosystem was driven by changing marine influence and the land was mainly exploited …
Mediterranean Struggles for Movement and the European Government of Bodies: An Interview with Étienne Balibar and Nicholas De Genova
2017
The conversation between Etienne Balibar and Nicholas De Genova engages with the Mediterranean of migration as a multifaceted, productive, and contested space, which can represent a counterpoint to a deep-rooted Eurocentric imaginary. Looking at the Mediterranean as a space produced by the mobility of the bodies crossing it and by the combination of different struggles, Balibar and De Genova comment on some of the political movements that have taken center stage in the Mediterranean region in the past few years and suggest that the most important challenge today is to mobilize a “Mediterranean point of view” whereby the political borders of Europe and its self-centered referentiality can be…
Palaeogeographical evolution of the Egadi Islands (western Sicily, Italy). Implications for late Pleistocene and early Holocene sea crossings by huma…
2019
Abstract The continental shelf morphology offshore of western Sicily suggests that during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 20 ka cal BP), two of the Egadi Islands, Favignana and Levanzo, were connected to Sicily by a wide emerged plain, while Marettimo was only separated from the other islands by a narrow channel. We studied the relative sea-level variation from the LGM until today, focussing on two important time slices: the Mesolithic (9.5–13 ka cal BP) and the Neolithic (6.5–7.5 ka cal BP). In this research, we discuss a sea-level rise model by means of geomorphological, archaeological and geophysical observations and new radiocarbon dating of marine and terrestrial fossil fauna. The resul…
Hydrodynamism and its influence on the reproductive condition of the edible sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus
2013
Despite the large body of work published in the last two decades on the reproduction of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, the reproductive aspects linked to hydrodynamic conditions and their influence on gonad production remain poorly understood. The present paper aims to evaluate the effect of hydrodynamism on the reproductive cycle of P. lividus. Variability in the gonadosomatic index (GSI) of P. lividus was estimated seasonally from 2007 to 2008 at two shallow sub-littoral flat basaltic areas at Ustica Island (Western Mediterranean). GSI was higher in the sites characterized by low hydrodynamism than in those with high hydrodynamism. Results also suggest a possible role for hydrodyna…
Shared effects of organic microcontaminants and environmental stressors on biofilms and invertebrates in impaired rivers
2016
Land use type, physical and chemical stressors, and organic microcontaminants were investigated for their effects on the biological communities (biofilms and invertebrates) in several Mediterranean rivers. The diversity of invertebrates, and the scores of the first principal component of a PCA performed with the diatom communities were the best descriptors of the distribution patterns of the biological communities against the river stressors. These two metrics decreased according to the progressive site impairment (associated to higher area of agricultural and urban-industrial, high water conductivity, higher dissolved organic carbon and dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations, and high…