Differential effects of synchronous and asynchronous multifinger coactivation on human tactile performance

Background  

Repeated execution of a tactile task enhances task performance. In the present study we sought to improve tactile performance with unattended activation-based learning processes (i.e., focused stimulation of dermal receptors evoking neural coactivation (CA)). Previous studies show that the application of CA to a single finger reduced the stationary two-point discrimination threshold and significantly increased tactile acuity. These changes were accompanied by an expansion of the cortical finger representation in primary somatosensory cortex (SI). Here we investigated the effect of different types of multifinger CA on the tactile performance of each finger of the right hand.     

Transfer matrix approach of vibration isolation analysis of periodic composite structure

The transmission properties of elastic waves propagating in a three-dimensional composite structure embedded periodically with spherical inclusions are analyzed by the transfer matrix method in this paper. Firstly, the periodic composite structures are divided into many layers, the transfer matrix of monolayer structure is deduced by the wave equations, and the transfer matrix of the entire structure is obtained in the case of boundary conditions of displacement and stress continuity between layers. Then, the effective impedance of the structure is analyzed to calculate its reflectivity and transmissivity of vibration isolation. Finally, numerical simulation is carried out; the experiment results validate the accuracy and feasibility of the method adopted in the paper and some useful conclusions are obtained. Project (No. 50075029) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

When is a Riemannian submersion homogeneous?

We study the structure of the most common type of Riemannian submersions, namely those whose fibers are given by the orbits of an isometric group action on a Riemannian manifold. Special emphasis is given to the case where the ambient space has nonnegative curvature. The first author was supported by research grant MTM2004-04794-MEC. Most of this work was done during a visit of the second author to Madrid, financed in part by funds of the aforementioned grant.     

AI and OR in management of operations: history and trends

The last decade has seen a considerable growth in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for operations management with the aim of finding solutions to problems that are increasing in complexity and scale. This paper begins by setting the context for the survey through a historical perspective of OR and AI. An extensive survey of applications of AI techniques for operations management, covering a total of over 1200 papers published from 1995 to 2004 is then presented. The survey utilizes Elsevier's ScienceDirect database as a source. Hence, the survey may not cover all the relevant journals but includes a sufficiently wide range of publications to make it representative of the research in the field. The papers are categorized into four areas of operations management: (a) design, (b) scheduling, (c) process planning and control and (d) quality, maintenance and fault diagnosis. Each of the four areas is categorized in terms of the AI techniques used: genetic algorithms, case-based reasoning, knowledge-based systems, fuzzy logic and hybrid techniques. The trends over the last decade are identified, discussed with respect to expected trends and directions for future work suggested.     

Convergence of generalized conjugate partial Fourier integrals

Generalized conjugate partial Fourier integrals are used to find jumps of functions. The rate of convergence is studied and sharp results are obtained.     

Motivic Serre invariants of curves

In this article, we generalize the theory of motivic integration on formal schemes topologically of finite type and the notion of motivic Serre invariant, to a relative point of view. We compute the relative motivic Serre invariant for curves defined over the field of fractions of a complete discrete valuation ring R of equicharacteristic zero. One aim of this study is to understand the behavior of motivic Serre invariants under ramified extension of the ring R. Thanks to our constructions, we obtain, in particular, an expression for the generating power series, whose coefficients are the motivic Serre invariant associated to a curve, computed on a tower of ramified extensions of R. We give an interpretation of this series in terms of the motivic zeta function of Denef and Loeser.