Behavioural and Neurophysiological Effects of a Stroke Rehabilitation Program on Emotional Processing in Tuberothalamic Infarct—Case Study

The aim of the study was to assess the neurophysiological and behavioural effects of a stroke rehabilitation involving Treatment As Usual (TAU) combined with Social Cognitive Training (SCT) in a right-handed patient suffered from tuberothalamic infarct compared to healthy controls (HCs) (n = 13). Methods: Both HCs and the patient were assessed by means of the following measures: Penn Emotion Perception Battery (ER40, EmoDiff40, PEAT40, PFMT), Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale alongside clinical scales (Mini Mental State Examination, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Hamilton Depression Scale). The SCT was delivered individually for 60 minutes weekly in a 12-week program (12 sessions). The subject participated twice in a fMRI scanning session including the event-related task of implicit processing of 100% fearful expressions to detect physiological changes after TAU plus SCT and compared them with HCS who underwent the same assessment once. Results: Compared with HCs, the patient before therapy revealed lower scores in emotion recognition;particularly perception of anger was affected alongside worse performance on both emotion discrimination and acuity tests. After therapy, B.D. showed improvement in emotional processing. B.D. had less post-therapy activation maps compared with pretherapy ones and more significantly activated pre-and post-central gyrus and right cerebellum in response to fearful faces. Interestingly, no amygdala was significantly activated as the response to fearful stimuli before or after therapy was completed. Conclusions: Further research was needed to increase understanding about efficacy of SCT and the theory of neuroplasticity, thus helping rehabilitation programs.

Constraints of Asymptotic Character and Attainability Problems

The attainability problem with “asymptotic constraints” is considered. Concrete variants of this problem arise in control theory. Namely, we can consider the problem about construction and investigation of attainability domain under perturbation of traditional constraints (boundary and immediate conditions;phase constraints). The natural asymptotic analog of the usual attainability domain is attraction set, for representation of which, the Warga generalized controls can be applied. More exactly, for this, attainability domain in the class of generalized controls is constructed. This approach is similar to methods for optimal control theory (we keep in mind approximate and generalized controls of J. Warga). But, in the case of attainability problem, essential difficulties arise. Namely, here it should be constructed whole set of limits corresponding to different variants of all more precise realization of usual solutions in the sense of constraints validity. Moreover, typically, the above-mentioned control problems are infinite-dimensional. Real possibility for investigation of the arising limit sets is connected with extension of control space. For control problems with geometric constraints on the choice of programmed controls, procedure of this extensions was realized (for extremal problems) by J. Warga. More complicated situation arises in theory of impulse control. It is useful to note that, for investigation of the problem about constraints validity, it is natural to apply asymptotic approach realized in part of perturbation of standard constraints. And what is more, we can essentially generalize self notion of constraints: namely, we can consider arbitrary systems of conditions defined in terms of nonempty families of sets in the space of usual controls. Thus, constraints of asymptotic character arise.

Gravitational Forces Explained as the Result of Anisotropic Energy Exchange between Baryonic Matter and Quantum Vacuum

Gravitational forces are explained as a result of energy exchange between baryonic matter having the property of mass and the Quantum Vacuum. The derivations are starting with a hypothesis that baryonic matter, particles, atoms and molecules exchange energy with the Quantum Vacuum with zero balance. It is assumed that in absence of an external gravitation field the emission pattern is isotropic. There is no recoil force of radiation. The application of an external gravitation field induces an anisotropy which results in a recoil force of radiation. An ellipsoidal radiation pattern is applied. The eccentricity of the ellipsoid is defined using the maximum possible value of any gravitation field estimated to have the value about 5 × 1012 [m/s2]. A formula is derived for calculating the power of the isotropic radiation. It was shown that two masses attract due to the fact that gravitation field lowers the energy density of the Quantum Vacuum. Using the results of measurements of a binary neutron star by Taylor and Hulse (Nobel Prize in Physics 1993) it was shown that possibly gravitational waves carry negative energy.

Gravity in View of the Theory of Orbiting Binary Stars

In this paper, we investigate orbiting of two stars having equal masses. We consider two models: with a circular orbit and with two elliptical orbits having a common center of a mass located in a common focal point. In the case of the circular orbit, we applied the notion of the instantaneous complex frequency. The paper is illustrated with numerous formulas, derivations and discussion of results.