Visual snake aversion in Octodon degus and C57BL/6 mice

Animal Cognition - Phobia against spiders or snakes is common in humans, and similar phobia-like behaviors have been observed in non-human animals. Visual images of snakes elicit phobia in humans,...     

Threading dislocation with b=c+2a in 4H-SiC as determined by LACBED

The Burgers vectors of the so-called threading screw dislocations (a total of 28 dislocations) in 4H-SiC were determined by large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction. A new type of TSD, that is, b = c + 2a dislocation, was identified. Thus, all of the four types of TSD predicted by Onda et al. [Phil. Mag. Lett. 93 (2013) p.591] were identified.     

Visualization of stress distribution using mechanoluminescence from Sr3Al2O6: Eu and the nature of the luminescence mechanism

We have investigated the dependence of the mechanoluminescence intensity from Sr3Al2O6: Eu on compressive stress. The distribution of the mechanoluminescence intensity, which is clearly visible to the naked eye, is consistent with the calculated stress distribution. The luminescence centre has been identified as the Eu2+ ion from spectra of the mechanoluminescence and also from photoluminescence studies of Sr3Al2O6: Eu. The mechanoluminescence intensity decreases on repetitive application of stress but recovers completely on irradiation with ultraviolet light. The Sr3Al2O6: Eu is a p-type semiconductor and has hole traps of depth 0.11 eV. It is suggested that the mechanoluminescence mechanism arises from the movement of dislocations and recombination between electrons and holes released from these traps which are associated with Eu2+ centres.     

Evolution of a sharp {110} texture in microcrystalline Fe78Si9B13 during magnetic crystallization from the amorphous phase

The effect of magnetic crystallization on texture evolution and control in nanocrystalline materials has been studied using a melt-spun amorphous Fe₇₈Si₉B₁₃ alloy. The magnetic crystallization was conducted at temperatures ranging from 653 to 853?K in a magnetic field up to 6?T. The temperatures used for magnetic crystallization were chosen on the basis of the Curie and crystallization temperatures of the amorphous phase, and the Curie temperature of the crystallized phase. The resultant microstructure was characterized by X-ray diffraction and FE-SEM/EBSP/OIM techniques. It was found that a sharp {110} texture developed when the amorphous precursor was crystallized at 853?K in a magnetic field of 6?T applied in a direction parallel to the ribbon surface.     

Texture and grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) in rapidly solidified and annealed Fe–6·5 mass% Si ribbons

Abstract

The type and frequency of grain boundaries, the so-called grain boundary character distribution (GBCD), has been determined in rapidly solidified and subsequently annealed Fe-6·5 mass% Si alloy ribbon by the scanning electron microscopy-electron channelling pattern (SEM-ECP) technique. High frequencies of low-angle boundaries and coincidence boundaries with Σ3, Σ9, Σ11, Σ17 and Σ19 were observed in a fully annealed ribbon with well defined {110} texture. The total frequency of low-angle boundaries and coincidence boundaries is almost one-half of all grain boundaries. The coincidence boundaries which occurred more frequently are exactly those predicted theoretically from the coincidence orientations for 〈110〉 rotation in cubic crystals, similar to those observed previously in {100} textured ribbons of the same alloy produced by the same processing method. The presence of a close relationship between the type of texture and GBCD has been confirmed by experiment on differently textured ribbons of the same material.     

Study-time effect on free recall within and out of context

Three experiments examined whether or not the study-time effect, which was observed when recall took place in the original environmental context, was eliminated or markedly diminished when recall took place in a different environmental context. A total of 456 undergraduates studied a list of words for either a short or long study time before receiving an oral free recall test under conditions where the original environmental context was or was not reinstated. Environmental context was manipulated by the combination of physical features of the room, subsidiary task, and experimenter. Inter-item association was minimised in Experiment 1, and free recall performance was measured independently of inter-item association in Experiments 2 and 3. The results were: (1) a greater study-time effect was found when the original context was reinstated than when it was not reinstated, and (2) the study-time effect disappeared when neither contextual nor inter-item associative cues were available. The results suggest that environmental context is involved in the production of the study-time effect.     

Context-dependent effects of background colour in free recall with spatially grouped words

Three experiments investigated context-dependent effects of background colour in free recall with groups of items. Undergraduates (N=113) intentionally studied 24 words presented in blocks of 6 on a computer screen with two different background colours. The two background colours were changed screen-by-screen randomly (random condition) or alternately (alternation condition) during the study period. A 30-second filled retention interval was imposed before an oral free-recall test. A signal for free recall was presented throughout the test on one of the colour background screens presented at study. Recalled words were classified as same- or different-context words according to whether the background colours at study and test were the same or different. The random condition produced significant context-dependent effects, whereas the alternation condition showed no context-dependent effects, regardless of whether the words were presented once or twice. Furthermore, the words presented on the same screen were clustered in recall, whereas the words presented against the same background colour but on different screens were not clustered. The present results imply: (1) background colours can cue spatially massed words; (2) background colours act as temporally local context; and (3) predictability of the next background colour modulates the context-dependent effect.     

The fractal property of internal structure of facial affect recognition: A complex system approach

Based on a circumplex model of facial affect, four inner affective circumplexes, assumed to have 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25% emotional intensities, were investigated in terms of fractal, which is a concept of complex systems. Results revealed that the perimeters of the circumplex excluding the 25% condition possessed fractal property characterised by features specific to fractals. Results also showed that fractal dimension in the 50% condition (1.58 dimension) was significantly higher than that in the 100% (1.45 dimension) and 75% (1.45 dimension) conditions, indicating that the cognitive structure of facial affect in the 50% condition was more complex than that in the 100% and 75% conditions.     

Discriminative and reinforcing properties of paintings in Java sparrows (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Padda oryzivora</Emphasis>)

Previous studies suggest that non-human animals can discriminate two different artworks (such as music or paintings) that were created by humans. However, such studies rarely examined whether those animals were reinforced by one artwork more than another. It has been shown that music composed by humans has both discriminative and reinforcing properties when played for Java sparrows. Here, we investigated the effects of another artistic medium in Java sparrows, namely paintings. The first experiment tested the reinforcing properties. Staying time at three painting categories—Japanese, cubist, and impressionist—was measured as an index of their reinforcing properties. The second experiment used operant conditioning to reveal the discriminative properties of the different artistic styles of such paintings. Results suggest that the paintings have both discriminative and reinforcing properties for Java sparrows. However, the reinforcing properties vary from individual to individual. This is the first report demonstrating reinforcing properties of visual artworks in non-human animals.