Structural changes induced by low-energy electron irradiation in GaSb

Structural changes in GaSb (001) thin films upon low-energy electron (125?keV) irradiation have been studied by in situ transmission electron microscopy. No structural changes were observed for irradiation at room temperature. However, in a sample irradiated at 473?K domains of {110} variant, rotated 90° from each other, were formed in the matrix. The average diameter of the domains was approximately 18?nm in the sample irradiated to a fluence of 4.8?×?10²⁴?electrons/m². It is considered that the domains are pseudo-{110} planes in the matrix formed by electron-irradiation-induced Shockley partial dislocations.     

Illusion of sense of self-agency: discrepancy between the predicted and actual sensory consequences of actions modulates the sense of self-agency, but not the sense of self-ownership

It is proposed that knowledge of motor commands is used to distinguish self-generated sensation from externally generated sensation. In this paper, we show that the sense of self-agency, that is the sense that I am the one who is generating an action, largely depends on the degree of discrepancy resulting from comparison between the predicted and actual sensory feedback. In Experiment 1, the sense of self-agency was reduced when the presentation of the tone was unpredictable in terms of timing and its frequency, although in fact the tone was self-produced. In Experiment 2, the opposite case was found to occur. That is, participants experienced illusionary sense of self-agency when the externally generated sensations happened to match the prediction made by forward model. In Experiment 3, the sense of self-agency was reduced when there was a discrepancy between the predicted and actual sensory consequences, regardless of presence or absence of a discrepancy between the intended and actual consequences of actions. In all the experiments, a discrepancy between the predicted and actual feedback had no effects on sense of self-ownership, that is the sense that I am the one who is undergoing an experience. These results may suggest that both senses of self are mutually independent.     

The anchor effects on the judgment of loudness using reaction time as an index of loudness

The present study was designed to investigate anchor effects on loudness judgments, using reaction time (RT) as an index of loudness. In Experiment 1, anchor effects were reexamined using verbal categories. Two kinds of anchor stimuli, 60- and 90-dB SPL 1,000-Hz pure tones, and four kinds of series stimuli, 60-, 70-, 80-, and 90-dB tones, were used. In this experiment, clear anchor effects were found just the same as in our previous experiment. Experiment 2 was conducted using RT as an index of loudness with stimulus conditions similar to those in Experiment 1. The same anchor effects could be seen in this experiment too. As RT is quite free from the limitations inevitably accompanying the verbal responses, it may be concluded that the anchor effects reflect the shift in perception.     

Do pointing gestures by infants provoke comments from adults?

In the field of developmental psychology, there is speculation that pointing gestures by infants are good precursors of infant language acquisition, and some researchers have found correlations between these pointing gestures and some indices of language acquisition. Infants’ pointing gestures are presumably related to language acquisition because they provoke verbal responses from adults. To test this, seven boys and six girls were observed during free play time in a nursery classroom, and post-pointing and matched-control data were collected. Comparison between these data confirmed that the nursery staff spoke to infants at a significantly earlier stage in post-pointing sequences, compared with control sequences, indicating that pointing gestures elicit verbal responses from adult caregivers.     

A low-cost universal feeder

Construction of a universal feeder for a cost of less than $200 is described. The feeder consists of two plywood panels, the first of which is circular and has grooves cut around its margin to hold reinforcers. This circular panel is secured to the second, rectangular panel so that it is free to rotate. A brush fixed onto the axle of a stepper motor above the circular panel sweeps the reinforcers away from the circular panel. Another stepper motor rotates the circular panel after each delivery to prepare the next reinforcer for delivery.     

Presence of ε-martensite as an intermediate phase during the strain-induced transformation of SUS304 stainless steel

We have investigated the formation process of α′-martensite from the γ-phase induced by external strain using in situ synchrotron diffraction experiments, combined with Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM observations. It is clearly demonstrated that ε-martensite with hexagonal symmetry appears as an intermediate structure during the plastic deformation of SUS304 stainless steel. In addition to stacking faults and dislocations, interfaces between the twin structures presumably play a key role in the formation of ε-martensite.     

Gaze following among toddlers

Children's cooperative activities with their peers become markedly coordinated during the 3rd year of life. During these activities, the child needs to follow his/her peers’ gaze to objects, and look at the same objects to initiate coordinated action. Since 3-year-olds’ ability to follow their peers’ gaze has not been studied, we experimentally investigated this in our study. In the experimental trials, an experimenter induced a child (looker) to look at a doll on display, and observed the reaction of another child (follower) who was in front of the looker (and not looking at the doll). In the control trials, the experimenter displayed the doll in an identical manner when the follower was alone. The followers followed the gaze of the lookers, looking at the doll in approximately 90% of the experimental trials, compared with 20% of the control trials. These results indicate that 3-year-olds can follow their peers’ gaze.     

Development of eating behavior by Japanese toddlers in a nursery school: relation to independent walking

The eating behavior of 32 toddlers in a nursery school at 10, 12, and 14 months old was observed in relation to the age at onset of independent walking. With increasing age, the frequency at which the toddlers ate food given by a teacher decreased, and the frequency at which the toddlers ate by themselves increased. The toddlers who started walking earlier also advanced faster in the development of eating behavior. The time when the frequency of eating by oneself surpassed the frequency of passive eating coincided with the time when the toddlers started walking.     

Spontaneous atom mixing and unmixing in metallic nanoparticles

The behaviour of atom mixing and unmixing in metallic nanoparticles has been studied in situ by transmission electron microscopy, using particles in the Au₂Pb-Sn system. It is confirmed that not only spontaneous mixing but also spontaneous unmixing take place in Au₂Pb particles. At room temperature, spontaneous mixing of tin atoms into Au₂Pb particles takes place, and this mixing induces unmixing of lead from Au₂Pb, resulting in the formation of AuSn particles accompanied by lead precipitates.