Search

Face to face communication is interactive, and involves continuous feedforward and feedback of information, thoughts, and feelings to the opposite party. To accurately assess the neural processing underlying these interactions, synchronous and simultaneous recording of the brain activity from both parties is needed, a method known as hyperscanning. Here, we investigated the neural processing underlying nonverbal face-to-face communication using a magnetoencephalographic (MEG) hyperscanning system, comprising two fiber optically connected MEGs. Eight pairs of subjects participated. Each individual in each pair viewed a combined 80 randomized 20 s trials of 40 real-time and 40 recorded (hereafter, real and simulated, respectively) videos of the opposite party’s face. Non-verbal communication through actions such as gaze, eye blinks, and facial expression was intrinsically only possible during real videos. After each trial, subjects individually subjectively discriminated whether the viewed video was real or simulated. Overall subjective discrimination accuracies were slightly but significantly above chance level. Statistical analysis of brain activity revealed a significant three way interaction between theta-band rhythm amplitude, video type, and subjective discrimination response in the right frontal cortex. Additionally, when subjects responded that videos were simulated, theta activity was significantly lower for real videos compared with simulated videos (p = 0.01). This result not only demonstrates the importance of right frontal theta activity during non-verbal communication, but also indicates the existence of unconscious, semi-automated neural processing during non-verbal communication that underlies one’s ability to subjectively discriminate whether or not the opposite party is real.

This paper deals with prediction of improvement in surface roughness in helical scan grinding by simulation of virtual ground surface with a 3D-CAD model. It has been found that, by choosing the value of parameters of several grit conditions such as grit arrangement, protrusion height, inclination angle and so on, randomly for a real wheel, the maximum unevenness of the virtual ground surface and tendency of its change with feed angle nearly coincide with the surface roughness in the experiment of helical scan grinding. It is found that this simulation method is effective for the prediction of a surface ground by helical scan grinding.

This paper deals with a technique to easily suppress bad odor of water-soluble coolant (working fluid) by using a commercially available ion generator for home use. At the shop floor, water-soluble coolant is in heavy use, where putrid bad odor is apt to be generated from water since over 95% of the coolant component is water, leading to a short life of the coolant. Expecting an effect of suppressing putrid odor of water-soluble coolant, application of ion mixed air using an ion generator for house use was examined. As a result, bubbling with ion mixed air could achieve a drastic suppression of a bad odor generated from putrid water-soluble coolant, compared to a bubbling with air only. In addition, it was confirmed that by discharging ions into a machine emitting a bad odor, the odor level decreases drastically. From these results, a machine having an ion generator built-in can be proposed as an environmentally friendly machine tool.