运动距离效应的认知编码机制

Among the cognitive studies of action, an important behavioral method is used to observe Reaction Time (RT) and Movement Time (MT) as the functions of motor parameters. RT is measured from the beginning of target presentation to the initiation of a movement, which is regarded as the programming of the ongoing movement. MT is measured from the initiation to the end of the movement, which is regarded as the execution of the movement. However, the relationship between RT and motor parameters remains uncertain till now. Under the uncertainty many related issues cannot be settled for long period, especially the issues as whether the amplitude effect appears during RT, or what should the amplitude effect be during RT. The present study aimed to find out the amplitude effect and the related cognitive process under different experimental conditions. First, we discussed the potential composition of RT and suggested that RT that normally measured in previous experiments might not reflect motor programming very well. Then we designed a series experiments to observe the relationship between RT and motor programming by using different Index of Difficulty (ID), different instructions in which speed and accuracy were emphasized respectively, different vision condition during movement execution and Go/NoGo paradigm. Meanwhile, we compared the amplitude effect under the respective RT to make the specific conclusion about the amplitude effect, and the relationship between RT and MT as well. The main findings are showed as following. 1) Because of the existing of “preview”, “visual feedback control” and “speed-accuracy tradeoff”, RT reflects motor programming differently under different experimental conditions. 2) Under different experimental conditions, the amplitude effect on RT varies. RT could be too short to exhibit the amplitude effect. Or the amplitude effect could be that more RT is needed for shorter movement when RT is prolonged. Or the amplitude effect could be that more RT is needed for longer movement when RT is further prolonged. 3) Under the present experimental conditions, the amplitude effect on MT showed consistently that longer movement needs longer MT. 4) Under the present experimental conditions, the relationship between RT and MT is a kind of compensation. The present study has important theoretic significance. The cognitive process of action is an important part of human cognitive behavior. The related studies could be very helpful for human people to know about themselves and the relation between themselves and the surroundings as well. Keywords motor programming; amplitude effect; Reaction Time (RT); Movement Time (MT)

应急疏散语音告警信号设计参数的研究

Voice alarm plays an important role in emergency evacuation of public place, because it can provide information and instruct evacuation. This paper studied the optimization of acoustic and semantic parameters of voice alarms in emergency evacuation, so that alarm design can improve the evacuation performance. Both method of magnitude estimation and scale were implemented to investigate participants' perceived urgency of the alarms with different parameters. The results indicated that, participants evaluated the alarms with faster speech rate, with greater signal to noise ratio (SNR) and under louder noises more urgent. There was an interaction between noise level and content of voice alarm. Signals with speech rate below 4 characters / second were evaluated as non urgent at all. Intelligibility of the voice alarm was investigated by evaluating the key pointed recognition performance. The results showed that, speech rate’s effect was a marginal significance, and 7 characters / second has the highest intelligibility. It might because that the faster the signal spoken, the more attention was paid. Gender of speaker and SNR did not have a significant effect on the signals’ intelligibility. This paper also investigated impact of voice alarms' content on human behavior in emergency evacuation in a 3-D virtual reality environment. In condition of "telling the occupants what had happened and what to do", the number of participants who succeeded in evacuation was the largest. Further study, in which similar numbers of participants evacuate successfully in three conditions, indicated that the reaction time and evacuation time was the shortest in the aforesaid condition. Although one-way ANOVA shows that the difference was not significant, the results still provided some reference to the alarm design. In sum, parameters of voice alarm in emergency evacuation should be chosen to meet needs from both perceived urgency and intelligibility. Contents of the alarms should include "what had happened and what to do", and should vary according to noise levels in different public places.

线索语义相容性的研究

With the studies of the Stimulus-Response Compatibility (SRC), more and more psychologists consider that the compatibility isn't only exist between stimulus and stimulus, response and response, but also any two sets in the information processing, it means that the compatibility is the basic feature of the human information processing. Research on the compatibility of the precue is a powerful evidence to support the issue. Dimension Overlap Model (Kornblum, 1990) is one of the most popular models to explain the mechanism of the SRC which focus on the dimension overlapping between the stimulus and response will activate the compatible response automatically, the compatibility effects origin from whether the compatible response prove or interference the response, the so the time course between the automatic activation and the task processing cause the dynamical time feature of the SRC (Kornblum, 1997). Yet the DO model has gotten many supports, it hasn't been tested in the paradigm of the precue task. At the same time, company with the development of the Environment Psychology, the effect of the ex-information in the environment on the inside information processing has drown much attention, does the validity probability of the cue have any influence on the cue compatibility? How about the relationship of the cue compatibility and the SRC? Research on the questions will reveal the characteristics of the human information processing, enhance the knowledge of the compatibility phenomena and resource, enlarge the field of SRC and produce more practice usage on the design of human-machine system. The mechanism and influence factors of symbolic compatibility between cue and stimulus were investigated within a precueing paradigm. The influence of the dimension overlapping relation between the cue and the stimulus, cue and the response on the reaction time were studied under the different kinds of SRC, to test whether or not it confirms the dimension overlap hypothesis, to test is there any effect of SOA and validity probability of cues on the cue compatibility. The results showed that the cue compatibility exists and owns such features: 1, It confirms the dimension overlap model that the cue which dimension overlapped with the stimulus or the response will influence the efficiency of the processing, the reaction time is shorter when the cue is congruent with the stimulus or the response that that of the incongruent cue; 2, Consistent to the automatic activation hypothesis, the time course is the important characteristic of the cue compatibility. The largest compatibility effect can be gotten from the middle duration of SOA. 3, The validity probability of cues influence the cue compatibility significantly, the strength of the cue compatibility effect grows stronger with the higher validity probability of cues. 4, The cue compatibility affect the effect of SRC, especially when the cue is compatible with the stimulus; 5, The cue compatibility has two-fold meaning, the cue-stimulus compatibility and the cue-response compatibility, the former is stronger than the later when they compete each other. In summary, the compatibility, the basic feature of human information processing, is proved by the research, and the dimension overlap model and automatic activation hypothesis is tested by the studying on the cue compatibility.

Reaction-controlled phase transfer catalysis for styrene epoxidation to styrene oxide with aqueous hydrogen peroxide

The epoxidation of styrene catalyzed by a reaction-controlled phase transfer catalyst [(C18H37(30%)+C16H33(70%))N(CH3)(3))(3)](3)-[PW4O16] with H2O2 in a biphasic medium was investigated. Under certain conditions, the selectivity for styrene oxide was 95%, the conversion of styrene based on H2O2 was 85%, and the reaction time was less than 1 h. During the reaction, this catalyst powder formed soluble active species by the action of H2O2, was recovered as a precipitate, and was reused after H2O2 was used up. After two times recycling, the catalyst kept almost the same activity.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder children with a 7-repeat allele of the dopamine receptor D4 gene have extreme behavior but normal performance on critical neuropsychological tests of attention

An association of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene located on chromosome 11p15.5 and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been demonstrated and replicated by multiple investigators. A specific allele [the 7-repeat of a 48-bp variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in exon 3] has been proposed as an etiological factor in attentional deficits manifested in some children diagnosed with this disorder. In the current study, we evaluated ADHD subgroups defined by the presence or absence of the 7-repeat allele of the DRD4 gene, using neuropsychological tests with reaction time measures designed to probe attentional networks with neuroanatomical foci in D4-rich brain regions. Despite the same severity of symptoms on parent and teacher ratings for the ADHD subgroups, the average reaction times of the 7-present subgroup showed normal speed and variability of response whereas the average reaction times of the 7-absent subgroup showed the expected abnormalities (slow and variable responses). This was opposite the primary prediction of the study. The 7-present subgroup seemed to be free of some of the neuropsychological abnormalities thought to characterize ADHD.

Effects of exogenous double-stranded RNA on the basonuclin gene expression in mouse oocytes

In plants and less-advanced animal species, such as C.elegans, introduction of exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into cells would trigger degradation of the mRNA with homologous sequence and interfere with the endogenous gene expression. It might represent an ancient anti-virus response which could prevent the mutation in the genome that was caused by virus infection or mobile DNA elements insertion. This phenomenon was named RNA interference, or RNAi. In this study, RNAi was used to investigate the function of basonuclin gene during oogenesis. Microinjection of dsRNA directed towards basonuclin into mouse germinal-vesicle-intact (GV) oocytes brought down the abundance of the cognate mRNA effectively in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. This reduction effect was sequence-specific and showed no negative effect on other non-homologous gene expression in oocytes, which indicated that dsRNA can recognize and cause the degradation of the transcriptional products of endogenous basonuclin gene in a sequence-specific manner. Immunofluorescence results showed that RNAi could reduce the concentration of basonuclin protein to some extent, but the effect was less efficient than the dsRNA targeting towards tPA and cMos which was also expressed in oocytes. This result might be due to the long half life of basonuclin protein in oocytes and the short reaction time which was posed by the limited life span of GV oocytes cultured in vitro. In summary, dsRNA could inhibit the expression of the cognate gene in oocytes at both mRNA and protein levels. The effect was similar to Knock-out technique which was based on homologous recombination. Furthermore, hairpin-style dsRNA targeting basonuclin gene could be produced by transcription from a recombinant plasmid and worked efficiently to deplete the cognate mRNA in oocytes. This finding offered a new way to study the function of basonuclin in the early stage of oogenesis by infection of primordial oocytes with the plasmid expressing hairpin-style basonuclin dsRNA.

Macrocyclic polyamine-modified poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith for capillary electrochromatography

1,4,10,13,16-Pentaazatricycloheneicosane-9,17-dione (macrocyclic polyamine)-modified polymer-based monolithic column for CEC was prepared by ring opening reaction of epoxide groups from poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (GMA-co-EDMA) monolith with macrocyclic polyamine. Conditions such as reaction time and concentration of macrocyclic polyamine for the modification reaction were optimized to generate substantial EOF and enough chromatographic interactions. Anodic EOF was observed in the pH range of 2.0-8.0 studied due to the protonation of macrcyclic polyamine at the surface of the monolith. Morphology of the monolithic column was examined by SEM and the incorporation of macrocyclic polyamine to the poly(GMA-co-EDMA) monolith was characterized by infrared (IR) spectra. Successful separation of inorganic anions, isomeric benzenediols, and benzoic acid derivatives on the monolithic column was achieved for CEC. In addition to hydrophobic interaction, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction played a significant role in the separation process.

One-pot synthesis and self-assembly of colloidal copper(I) sulfide nanocrystals

A simple one-pot method is developed to prepare size-and shape-controlled copper(I) sulfide (Cu2S) nanocrystals by thermolysis of a mixed solution of copper acetylacetonate, dodecanethiol and oleylamine at a relatively high temperature. The crystal structure, chemical composition and morphology of the as-obtained products are characterized by powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphology and size of the Cu2S nanocrystals can be easily controlled by adjusting the reaction parameters. The Cu2S nanocrystals evolve from spherical to disk-like with increasing reaction temperature. The spherical Cu2S nanocrystals have a high tendency to self-assemble into close-packed superlattice structures. The shape of the Cu2S nanodisks changes from cylinder to hexagonal prism with prolonged reaction time, accompanied by the diameter and thickness increasing. More interestingly, the nanodisks are inclined to self-assemble into face-to-face stacking chains with different lengths and orientations. This one-pot approach may extend to synthesis of other metal sulfide nanocrystals with different shapes and sizes.

Kinetic Model Study on Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulose Using Artificial Neural Networks

Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose was highly complex because of the unclear enzymatic mechanism and many factors that affect the heterogeneous system. Therefore, it is difficult to build a theoretical model to study cellulose hydrolysis by cellulase. Artificial neural network (ANN) was used to simulate and predict this enzymatic reaction and compared with the response surface model (RSM). The independent variables were cellulase amount X-1, substrate concentration X-2, and reaction time X-3, and the response variables were reducing sugar concentration Y-1 and transformation rate of the raw material Y-2. The experimental results showed that ANN was much more suitable for studying the kinetics of the enzymatic hydrolysis than RSM. During the simulation process, relative errors produced by the ANN model were apparently smaller than that by RSM except one and the central experimental points. During the prediction process, values produced by the ANN model were much closer to the experimental values than that produced by RSM. These showed that ANN is a persuasive tool that can be used for studying the kinetics of cellulose hydrolysis catalyzed by cellulase.

Conversion of Soybean oil to Biodiesel Fuel with Immobilized Candida Lipase on Textile Cloth

The characteristic of biodiesel fuel production from transesterification of soybean oil is studied. The reactant solution is the mixture of soybean oil, methanol, and solvent. A new lipase immobilization method, textile cloth immobilization, was developed in this study. Immobilized Candida lipase sp. 99-125 was applied as the enzyme catalyst. The effect of flow rate of reaction liquid, solvents, reaction time, and water content on the biodiesel yield is investigated. Products analysis shows that the main components in biodiesel are methyl sterate, methyl hexadecanoate, methyl oleate, methyl linoleate, and methyl linolenate. The test results indicate that the maximum yield of biodiesel of 92% was obtained at the conditions of hexane being the solvent, water content being 20 wt%, and reaction time being 24 h.

Optimization of biodiesel production from trap grease via acid catalysis

As a kind of waste collected from restaurants, trap grease is a chemically challenging feedstock for biodiesel production for its high free fatty acid (FFA) content. A central composite design was used to evaluate the effect of methanol quantity, acid concentration and reaction time on the synthesis of biodiesel from the trap grease with 50% free fatty acid, while the reaction temperature was selected at 95 degrees C. Using response surface methodology, a quadratic polynomial equation was obtained for ester content by multiple regression analysis. Verification experiments confirmed the validity of the predicted model. To achieve the highest ester content of crude biodiesel (89.67%), the critical values of the three variables were 35.00 (methanol-to-oil molar ratio), 11.27 wt% (catalyst concentration based on trap grease) and 4.59 h (reaction time). The crude biodiesel could be purified by a second distillation to meet the requirement of biodiesel specification of Korea.

Study on methane hydration process in a semi-continuous stirred tank reactor

The methane hydration process is investigated in a semi-continuous stirred tank reactor. Liquid temperatures and reaction rates without stirrer are compared with those occurring with stirrer, while at the same time better stirring conditions of the methane hydration process are given by the experiments. Some basic data of fluid mechanics, for example, stirring Reynolds number, Froucle number and stirrer power, are calculated during the methane hydration process, which can be applied to evaluate stirrer capacity and provide some basic data for a scaled up reactor. Based on experiment and calculations in this work, some conclusions are drawn. First, the stirrer has great influence on the methane hydration process. Batch stirring is helpful to improve the mass transfer and heat transfer performances of the methane hydration process. Second, induction time can be shortened effectively by use of the stirrer. Third, in this paper, the appropriate stirring velocity and stirring time were 320 rpm and 30 min, respectively, at 5.0 MPa, for which the storage capacity and reaction time were 159.1 V/V and 370 min, respectively. Under the condition of the on-flow state, the initial stirring Reynolds number of the fluid and the stirring power were 12,150 and 0.54 W, respectively. Fourth, some suggestions, for example, the use of another type of stirrer or some baffles, are proposed to accelerate the methane hydration process. Comparing with literature data, higher storage capacity and hydration rate are achieved in this work. Moreover, some fluid mechanics parameters are calculated, which can provide some references to engineering application.

Novel biodiesel production technology from soybean soapstock

This paper describes an attractive method to make biodiesel from soybean soapstock (SS). A novel recovery technology of acid oil (AO) from SS has been developed with only sulfuric acid solution under the ambient temperature (25 +/- 2 degrees C). After drying, AO contained 50.0% FFA, 15.5% TAG 6.9% DAG 3.1% MAG 0.8% water and other inert materials. The recovery yield of AO was about 97% (w/w) based on the total fatty acids of the SS. The acid oil could be directly converted into biodiesel at 95 degrees C in a pressurized reactor within 5 hours. Optimal esterification conditions were determined to be a weight ratio of 1 : 1.5 : 0.1 of AO/methanol/sulfuric acid. Higher reaction temperature helps to shorten the reaction time and requires less catalyst and methanol. Ester content of the biodiesel derived from AO through one-step acid catalyzed reaction is around 92%. After distillation, the purity of the biodiesel produced from AO is 97.6% which meets the Biodiesel Specification of Korea. The yield of purified biodiesel was 94% (w/w) based on the total fatty acids of the soapstock.