Reciprocal Action Research Articles

Technological Imperatives in Absenteeism and Presenteeism Anathema in Work Organizations

In this era of knowledge explosion and advancement in technology, nearly all organizations are beginning to employ and deploy one or more technologically enhanced processes to get things efficiently done. This may be due to the reality that not applying the same in line with the trends and events in terms of innovative capabilities could result in an impeded growth in business, huge business losses, or eventual failure or collapse of the business. This paper tends to ascertain the significance of technology in curbing issues relating to absenteeism and presenteeism in work organizations. A meta-review on the importance, nature, and meaning of technology was done on innovative technology, and relevant theory and studies revisited. Conclusively, the behavioral implications with respect to social and human actions presuppose that a huge chunk of behaviors in an organization will be largely based on social action, which respects the consciousness and expectation of reciprocal action. Awareness of the installation of Closed-Circuit Television will definitely evoke pretense, which becomes a clog to the possibility of the manager understanding the true nature of their subordinates.

Making Meaning Together: Embodied Narratives in a Case of Severe Autism

Shared understanding is generated between individuals before speech through a language of body movement and non-verbal vocalisation, expression of feeling and interest made in gestures of movement and voice. Human understanding is co-created in these embodied projects, displayed in serially organised expressions with shared timing of reciprocal actions between partners. These develop in narrative events that build over cycles of reciprocal expressive action in a four-part structure shared by all the time-based arts: “introduction,” “development,” “climax,” and “conclusion.” Pre-linguistic narrative establishes the foundation of later, linguistic intelligence. Yet, participating in social interactions that give rise to narrative development is a central problem of autism spectrum disorder. In this paper, we examine the rapid growth of narrative meaning-making between a non-verbal young woman with severe autism and her new therapist. Episodes of embodied, shared understanding were enabled through a basic therapeutic mode of reciprocal, creative mirroring of expressive gesture. These developed through reciprocal cycles and as the relationship progressed, complete co-created narratives were formed resulting in shared joy and the mutual interest and trust of companionship. These small, embodied stories enabled moments of co-regulated arousal that the young woman had previous difficulty with. These data provide evidence for an intact capacity for non-verbal narrative meaning-making in autism.

A unified model of shared brain structural alterations in patients with different mental disorders who experience own‐thought auditory verbal hallucinations—A pilot study

ObjectiveTo explore shared brain structural alterations in patients diagnosed with mental disorders who experience own‐thought auditory verbal hallucinations (OTAVHs).MethodsA cohort of 143 first‐diagnosis, nonmedicated patients with OTAVHs was enrolled: 25 with schizophrenia (FUSCH‐OTAVH), 20 with major depression disorder (FUMDD‐OTAVH), 28 with bipolar disorder (FUBD‐OTAVH), 22 patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (FUPTSD‐OTAVH), 21 with anxiety disorder (FUAD‐OTAVH), and 27 with borderline personality disorder (FUBPD‐OTAVH); 25 healthy controls (HCs) participated. The Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale (AHRS), multiple psychometric scales, voxel‐based morphometry (VBM), tract‐based spatial statistics (TBSS), and multiple regression were used.ResultsCompared with HCs, patients had increased occipital cortex, dorsal prefrontal cortex (PFC), and striatum gray matter volumes (GMVs), a reduced insular cortex (IC) GMV, and an impaired frontooccipital fasciculus. The following differences were found versus HCs: FUSCH‐OTAVH, reduced PFC and occipital GMVs, increased striatum and thalamus GMVs, impaired arcuate fasciculus, u‐shaped bundle, optic tract, and upper longitudinal fasciculus (LF); FUMDD‐OTAVH, increased posterior frontotemporal junction and hippocampus GMVs; FUMN‐OTAVH, increased posterior frontotemporal junction and parietal cortex GMVs, reduced hippocampus GMV, impaired upper LF; FUPTSD‐OTAVH, increased temporal, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens GMVs; FUBPD‐OTAVH, increased frontotemporal junction and hippocampus GMVs, impaired upper/lower LF; and FUAD‐OTAVH, increased frontal and temporal cortex, hippocampus GMVs.ConclusionsThe present findings provide evidence consistent with a bottom‐up and top‐down reciprocal action dysfunction hypothesis of AVHs and with the dopamine hypothesis of AVHs. We observed specific features related to OTAVHs in patients with different mental disorders. The findings, though complex, provide clues for further studies of specific mental disorders.

Political and religious ideas during the Irish Revolution

ABSTRACT Intellectual historians have tended to focus either on shifts in sensibility or, more analytically, on the substance and structure of thought. They might usefully, however, examine both, as well as the reciprocal action of the one upon the other. This applies equally to political and religious ideas. In early twentieth-century Ireland, it was the relationship between religion and politics that stirred controversy. How would the institutions of church and state function, respectively, under Home Rule and the Union. Opposing camps advanced competing prognostications. This contest forces us to rethink the claim that revolutionary insurgency in Ireland was a species of ‘political religion’. The evidence points to a more complex picture while at the same time highlighting the persistence of sectarian attitudes in the historiography of the period.

Without insight accompanied with deteriorated brain functional alterations in healthy individuals with auditory verbal hallucinations: a pilot study

Few studies have reported on brain functional differences between healthy individuals with auditory verbal hallucinations (Hi-AVH) with and without insight, so we designed a study to address this knowledge gap. We enrolled 12 Hi-AVH with insight, 15 Hi-AVH without insight, and 15 AVH-free controls (Healthy controls). Global functional connectivity density (gFCD) mapping was used to estimate brain networks. We found that the most common alterations in both Hi-AVH groups were increased gFCD in superior parietal lobule and superior temporal gyrus. We also found that distinct brain functional patterns of Hi-AVH without insight comprised lower gFCD in the frontal lobe oculomotor area, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, supramarginal gyrus, primary auditory cortex, sensorimotor cortex, ventral anterior, and posterior cingulate Our pilot findings support the hypothesis that abnormal reciprocal action in the circuits for processing perception, memory, language, and attentional control may be pathological features of auditory verbal hallucinations.

Spontaneous, Voluntary, and Reflex Blinking in Clinical Practice.

Blinking is one of the motor acts performed more frequently by healthy human subjects. It involves the reciprocal action of at least two muscles: the orbicularis oculi shows a brief phasic activation while the levator palpebrae shows transient inhibition. In clinical practice, noninvasive recording of the orbicularis oculi activity is sufficient to obtain useful information for electrodiagnostic testing. Blinking can be spontaneous, voluntary, or reflex. Although the analysis of spontaneous blinks can already furnish interesting data, most studies are based on reflex blinking. This article is a review of some of the alterations that can be observed in blinking, focusing in four patterns of abnormality that can be distinguished in the blink reflex: (1) afferent versus efferent, which allows characterization of trigeminal or facial lesions; (2) peripheral versus central, which distinguishes alterations in nerve conduction from those involving synaptic delay; (3) upper versus lower brainstem lesions, which indicates the lesions involving specific circuits for trigeminal and somatosensory blink reflexes; and (4) asymmetric abnormal excitability pattern, which shows a unilateral alteration in the descending control of excitability in brainstem circuits. The blink reflex excitability recovery curve to paired stimuli may provide information about other modulatory inputs to trigemino-facial circuits, such as those proposed for the connection between basal ganglia and trigeminal neurons. Finally, prepulse inhibition of blink reflex reflects the motor surrogate of subcortical gating on sensory volleys, which is still another window by which electrodiagnosis can document motor control mechanisms and their abnormalities in neurologic diseases.

Uniting the wave and the particle in quantum mechanics

We present a unified field theory of wave and particle in quantum mechanics. This emerges from an investigation of three weaknesses in the de Broglie–Bohm theory: its reliance on the quantum probability formula to justify the particle-guidance equation; its insouciance regarding the absence of reciprocal action of the particle on the guiding wavefunction; and its lack of a unified model to represent its inseparable components. Following the author’s previous work, these problems are examined within an analytical framework by requiring that the wave–particle composite exhibits no observable differences with a quantum system. This scheme is implemented by appealing to symmetries (global gauge and spacetime translations) and imposing equality of the corresponding conserved Noether densities (matter, energy, and momentum) with their Schrödinger counterparts. In conjunction with the condition of time-reversal covariance, this implies the de Broglie–Bohm law for the particle where the quantum potential mediates the wave–particle interaction (we also show how the time-reversal assumption may be replaced by a statistical condition). The method clarifies the nature of the composite’s mass, and its energy and momentum conservation laws. Our principal result is the unification of the Schrödinger equation and the de Broglie–Bohm law in a single inhomogeneous equation whose solution amalgamates the wavefunction and a singular soliton model of the particle in a unified spacetime field. The wavefunction suffers no reaction from the particle since it is the homogeneous part of the unified field to whose source the particle contributes via the quantum potential. The theory is extended to many-body systems. We review de Broglie’s objections to the pilot-wave theory and suggest that our field-theoretic description provides a realization of his hitherto unfulfilled ‘double solution’ programme. A revised set of postulates for the de Broglie–Bohm theory is proposed in which the unified field is taken as the basic descriptive element of a physical system.

The Doing That Can Undo: Decolonizing the Performer-Audience Relationship in Lisa Cooke Ravensbergen’s Citation

Mariel Marshall talks with Lisa Cooke Ravensbergen about her work Citation, which uses listening, reciprocal action, and adoption of responsibility by the audience as a tool for decolonizing the performer-audience relationship. Ravensbergen notes, “ Citation could be my way of allowing for a story to not just be a story but a sharing. To be ceremony grounded in the fact that Indigenous bodies owe settler bodies nothing.”

Perceiving the sea and crossing senses in La Chambre and La Vie tranquille

Abstract La Chambre (1988) is a short dance film by Compagnie l’Esquisse, which cites Marguerite Duras’s novel La Vie tranquille (1944). In La Chambre, the sea is not seen, but is present across different senses and in the dancers’ movements, as well as in the quotation from Duras’s novel with which the film opens, which contains the sentence: ‘J’ai pensé à la mer que je ne connaissais pas.’ I argue that in both the novel and the film, the sea is sensed across different modalities that influence one another. Whereas in the novel ‘sensory crossings’ are produced by interactions between the lexical fields of words, in the film they occur when stimuli are presented in ways that invite viewers to make cross-sensory connections. Cross-modality of the senses can make us aware of the reciprocal action of one sensory mode on another and intensify affective charge.

Electromagnetic vortex suppression to prevent air core phenomenon for draining of electrically conducting liquids

The air core phenomenon observed during liquid suction or drainage through a narrow drain port can be reproduced artificially by starting the draining after rotating the cylindrical tank containing the liquid. Because the entrainment of gas-phase fluids during pump suction or liquid draining generates a breakdown of the machinery or defects in the product, various studies have been conducted to retard or prevent the air core phenomenon. Instead of utilizing an artificial structure such as a mesh or vane, as applied in previous studies, the present study introduces a new approach in which a magnetic field is applied to the container. First, the magnetic field applied induces an electric current through a reciprocal action with the liquid flow in the container. Next, the induced current and applied magnetic field create a Lorentz force, which is an electromagnetic body force. The Lorentz force helps with the suppression of existing flows. To couple the flow and electromagnetic fields, we solve the Poisson’s equation for the electric potential along with the momentum conservation. As the draining progresses, a volume-of-fluid (VOF) free surface capturing method is applied to track the free surface evolution, including the air core generation. For various Hartmann number (Ha) conditions, the internal velocities, vorticities, and Lorentz forces are comparatively presented. Finally, the effects of suppressing the air core phenomenon through the application of a magnetic field are discussed.

Accuracy characteristics of friction machines of reciprocal action

Accuracy characteristics of friction machines of reciprocal action

Soil microbial character response to plant community variation after grazing prohibition for 10 years in a Qinghai-Tibetan alpine meadow

In addition to improving vegetation, grazing prohibition changes the soil micro-environment. Soil enzymes and microbes, which are the chief constituents responsible for mediation of most of the processes involved in energy and material fluxes of ecosystems, are very sensitive to changing environments. This study aimed to illustrate the effects of grazing prohibition on vegetation and soil enzyme characteristics, and to elucidate the responses of soil fungal and bacterial function and community composition on grazing prohibition for 10 years in a Qinghai-Tibetan alpine meadow. About 6 hm2 lightly degraded alpine meadows were selected in 2006, and half of which were fenced to completely prohibit grazing throughout the year, while the other half were subjected to free yak grazing. Four different plots in each site were selected as experimental fields in 2016. Soil microbial characteristics were analyzed by high-throughput gene detection. Grazing prohibition had no significant impact on vegetable Shannon-Wiener diversities or below-ground biomass, but dramatically changed the above-ground biomass and soil phosphatase activity. In the Qinghai-Tibetan alpine meadow, bacteria are dominant members of the soil microbial community. Grazing prohibition significantly increased the fungal species diversity and the abundance of pathotrophs, saprotrophs and symbiotrophs, while it had no effect on soil bacterial diversity and functional structure. A total of 100.0% of the variations in fungi and bacteria could be explained by plant variables. The reciprocal action among plant biomass (i.e. above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass), plant diversities (i.e. Shannon-wiener diversity, species number, coverage) and species important value have a great impact on soil microbial composition variations. Long-term grazing prohibition restrained the phosphatase activity and increased the abundance of pathotrophic fungi but had no effect on the abundance of functional bacteria, which participate in the soil biogeochemistry cycling process. Grazing prohibition for 10 years did not improve the community structure of functional microorganisms related to carbon, nitrogen and sulfur, and appropriate grazing could maintain the sustainable utilization of grassland resources.

Pitch-derived carbon coated SnO2–CoO yolk–shell microspheres with excellent long-term cycling and rate performances as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

SnO2-based composite materials have been studied as efficient anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. In this study, pitch-derived carbon coated SnO2–CoO yolk–shell microspheres were synthesized by a spray drying process. Pitch is a widely used source material for electrically conductive carbon. Pitch-infiltrated SnO2–Co3O4 were transformed into SnO2–CoO–C yolk–shell microspheres by a carbothermal reduction. SnO2–CoO–C yolk–shell microspheres with a carbon content of 15 wt% exhibited superior cycling and rate performances compared with those of the bare SnO2–Co3O4 microspheres with the same morphologies. The discharge capacities of SnO2–Co3O4 and SnO2–CoO–C at the 100th cycle were 565 and 812 mA h g−1, while their capacity retentions calculated from the second cycle were 51 and 97%, respectively. Furthermore, SnO2–CoO–C yolk–shell microspheres exhibited high and stable reversible capacities even at an extremely high current density of 30 A g−1. The discharge capacity of SnO2–CoO–C yolk–shell microspheres at the 1000th cycle at a current density of 3.0 A g−1 was 775 mA h g−1. The synergetic effect of the pitch-derived carbon with a high electrical conductivity, catalytic effect of the metallic Co, crystal growth minimization of metallic Co and Sn by reciprocal action, and yolk–shell structure with empty shells provided the SnO2–CoO–C yolk–shell microspheres with excellent lithium-ion storage performances.

Reciprocal information flow and role distribution support joint action coordination

Many joint actions require task partners to temporally coordinate actions that follow different spatial patterns. This creates the need to find trade-offs between temporal coordination and spatial alignment. To study coordination under incongruent spatial and temporal demands, we devised a novel coordination task that required task partners to synchronize their actions while tracing different shapes that implied conflicting velocity profiles. In three experiments, we investigated whether coordination under incongruent demands is best achieved through mutually coupled predictions or through a clear role distribution with only one task partner adjusting to the other. Participants solved the task of trading off spatial and temporal coordination demands equally well when mutually perceiving each other’s actions without any role distribution, and when acting in a leader-follower configuration where the leader was unable to see the follower’s actions. Coordination was significantly worse when task partners who had been assigned roles could see each other’s actions. These findings make three contributions to our understanding of coordination mechanisms in joint action. First, they show that mutual prediction facilitates coordination under incongruent demands, demonstrating the importance of coupled predictive models in a wide range of coordination contexts. Second, they show that mutual alignment of velocity profiles in the absence of a leader-follower dynamic is more wide-spread than previously thought. Finally, they show that role distribution can result in equally effective coordination as mutual prediction without role assignment, provided that the role distribution is not arbitrarily imposed but determined by (lack of) perceptual access to a partner’s actions.

Сложные глаголы со значением реципрок-социатив в современном японском языке

This article analyzes compound verbs of modern Japanese language belonging to the reciprocal and joint action group expressing quantitative meaning. It also discusses the term ‘compound verb’ and its understanding in Russian and foreign linguistics. The compound verb is a verb in which from the left side a nominal, verbal or adjective component may be added to a verb functioning as a second component of the compound verb, from the right side – the auxiliary verb suru ‘to do’. We suppose that the compound verb is a verb combining two verbal components. The first component has the form of a connective form of the verb, and the second one is a verb having a full word inflectional paradigm. Components 合う -au and 合わせる -awaseru are used as affixes in analyzed compound verbs. Compound verbs with reciprocal meaning with component 合う -au express subjective reciprocal meaning and suppose existence of two participants of action. Compound verbs with joint action meaning with component 合う -au can express an indefinite quantity of subjects of action with the help of using adverbs or the appropriate lexicon as the subject of a sentence. The second component 合う -au easily adjoins to the verbs implying existence of a partner and doesn’t join to verbs which have a strong meaning of individuality and separateness. The second component 合わせる -awaseru partially keeps its own lexical meaning and the compound verb overall has an objective reciprocal meaning and expresses the quantity of subjects or objects. Compound verbs with component 合わせる -awaseru have the following meanings: 1. Combination of two subjects or two items. In this group as a first component the verbs with meaning ‘joint, adding’ and verbs with meaning ‘sudden joint action of partners’ are often used. 2. Adding one subject to another, one item to another. Compound verb overall expresses meaning of the result of action. 3. Adaptation to some circumstances, comparison. Conclusion is made based on the comparison of some items.

Reciprocal action of a synthetic estrogen and hERG blockers on the hERG channel

Reciprocal action of a synthetic estrogen and hERG blockers on the hERG channel

이성-감성의 상호 의존에 비추어 본 인간과 교육의 역동성

이성-감성의 상호 의존에 비추어 본 인간과 교육의 역동성

The Role of CD39/CD73/Ado/A2AR Axis and HIF-1α in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Introduction: CD39/CD73/ADO/A2A system plays important roles in tumor growth and therapy. Extracellular adenosine (ADO) receptor A2A (A2AR) is the dominant receptor expressed on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. ADO has been shown to protect CLL cells from spontaneous and drug-induced apoptosis through A2AR activation. Overexpression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), an important mediator controlling the expression of a wide variety of apoptotic genes, has been observed in bone marrow leukemic cells from CLL patients. However, the reciprocal action of A2AR and HIF-1α in CLL remains elusive. This study was aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the relationship between A2AR activation and HIF-1α in CLL.Materials and Methods: Peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) samples were collected from 30 healthy volunteers (control) and 20 patients who were diagnosed with CLL for the first time at the Hematology Department in our hospital. CD39/CD73/ADO/A2AR axis-related protein and HIF-1α protein expressions in CLL PB and BM tissues were examined by Western-blot. CD39, CD73, A2AR and HIF-1α expression on CLL cells were also determined by FACS. CLL cell line (Lym-2) was purchased from ATCC and incubated in DMEM medium supplemented with 10% FBS. The protein expressions of CD39, CD73 and A2AR on Lym-2 cells were confirmed by Western-blot. To study the impacts of A2AR activation and inactivation on CLL cells, CLL cells were treated with A2AR agonist CGS21680 or antagonist SCH58261, followed by determination of cell proliferation and HIF-1α protein expression.Results: The protein expressions of CD39, CD73, A2AR and HIF-1α were higher in CLL group than those in control group (BM: CD39 1.471 vs 0.926, CD73 1.097 vs 0.489, A2AR 1.139 vs 0.342 and HIF-1α 0.940 vs 0.362, P<0.05 Figure 1A; PB : CD39 1.809 vs 1.331, CD73 1.039 vs 0.653, A2AR 1.738 vs 1.119 and HIF-1α 1.336 vs 1.010, P<0.05 Figure 1B). Moreover, CD73 and HIF-1α protein expression was found to have relationship with disease stage. Patients who belonged to stage IV (Rai) and stage B/C (Binet) exhibited higher levels of CD73 and HIF-1α than patients who belonged to stage I to III (Rai) and stage A (Binet) . Data from FACS analysis showed that the proportion of CD39+CLL cells was higher than CD73+CLL cells and HIF-1α+CLL cells (P<0.05, Figure 2A). When compared to control group, the proportions of CD39+cells and CD73+ cells were significant higher in CLL group (Figure 2B). Western-blot results showed that Lym-2 cells expressed CD39, CD73 and A2AR simultaneously (Figure 3A). The results from CLL cells and A2AR agonist/antagonist incubation showed that when CGS21680 concentration was of ≥ 10uM, cell proliferation was promoted obviously (Figure 3B). On the contrary, SCH58261 could inhibit CLL cells proliferation when its concentration was of ≥5uM at a concentration dependent manner (Figure 3C). Moreover, HIF-1α protein expression was also affected by A2AR agonist at a concentration dependent manner(0uM 0.851, 10uM 1.116, 20uM 1.420, 50uM 1.41, Figure 3D).Conclusion: Our study showed that ADO produced by CD39 and CD73 could affect CLL cells proliferation and HIF-1α expression through A2AR-mediated mechanisms. The exploration of the molecular mechanisms underlying the relationship between A2AR activation and HIF-1α could help us to find a novel approach to CLL therapy.Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare. [Display omitted] DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Functional anatomy of human extraocular muscles during fusional divergence.

We employed magnetic resonance imaging to quantify human extraocular muscle contractility during centered target fusion and fusional divergence repeated with each eye viewing monocularly at 20 cm through 8Δ and at 400 cm through 4Δ base in prism. Contractility, indicated by posterior partial volume (PPV) change, was analyzed in transverse rectus and in medial and lateral superior oblique (SO) muscle compartments and by cross-sectional area change in the inferior oblique (IO). At 20 cm, 3.1 ± 0.5° (SE) diverging eye abduction in 10 subjects was associated with 4.2 ± 1.5% whole lateral rectus (LR) PPV increase ( P < 0.05) and 1.7 ± 1.1% overall medial rectus (MR) PPV decrease attributable to 3.1 ± 1.8% reduction in the superior compartment ( P < 0.025), without change in its inferior compartment or in muscles of the aligned eye. At 400 cm, 2.2 ± 0.5° diverging eye abduction in nine subjects was associated with 6.1 ± 1.3% whole LR PPV increase ( P < 10-5) but no change in MR, with compartmentally similar relaxation in the LR and MR of the aligned eye. Unlike convergence, there were no IO or SO contractile changes for divergence to either target nor any change in rectus pulley positions. Results confirm and extend to proximal divergence the unique role of the superior MR compartment, yet no MR role for far divergence. Corelaxation of aligned eye LR and MR combined with failure of MR relaxation during divergence is consistent with the limited behavioral range of divergence. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Magnetic resonance imaging shows that the lateral rectus muscle must overcome continued contraction by its opponent the medial rectus when humans diverge their visual axes to achieve single, binocular vision. While the upper but not lower compartment of the medial rectus assists by relaxing for near targets, it does not do so when targets are far away. This behavior violates Sherrington's law of reciprocal action of antagonists and conventional assumptions about the ocular motor system.

The “Althusser-Mao” Problematic and the Reconstruction of Historical Materialism: Maoism, China and Althusser on Ideology

In her article “The ‘Althusser-Mao’ Problematic and the Reconstruction of Historical Materialism: Maoism, China and Althusser on Ideology,” Fang Yan analyses the “Althusser-Mao” problematic which was first brought up by Liu Kang, outlining how Mao’s ideas contributed to the formation of Althusser’s theory of ideology. The paper is divided into three parts: first, how Mao influenced Althusser’s propositions of the primacy of relations of production and reciprocal action of the superstructure; secondly, how Mao influenced Althusser’s notions of ideological practice, Ideological State Apparatuses and ideological class struggle; and finally, how Althusser drew on Mao in the formation of the concept of “mass ideological revolution.” Yan argues that the “Althusser-Mao” problematic elevates ideology to such an extent that ideology or ideological struggle becomes synonymous with the search for “alternative modernity.