This study examined whether "melodic contour deafness" (insensitivity to the direction of pitch movement) in congenital amusia is associated with specific types of pitch patterns (discrete versus gliding pitches) or stimulus types (speech syllables versus complex tones). Thresholds for identification of pitch direction were obtained using discrete or gliding pitches in the syllable /ma/ or its ...

The effect of jettison on the range performance of aerial vehicles in gliding flight dealt with. It is shown that the achievable range can be increased by an optimal application of jettisoning. For this purpose, jettisoning is considered a control which is included in the trajectory optimization directed at the range maximization of a gliding vehicle. Furthermore, it is shown that the improveme...

This paper presents Lyapunov functions for proving stability of steady gliding motions for vehicles with hydrodynamic or aerodynamic forces and moments. Because of lifting forces and moments, system energy cannot be used as a Lyapunov function candidate. A Lyapunov function is constructed using a conservation law discovered by Lanchester in his classical work on phugoid-mode dynamics of an airp...

Two models have been proposed to explain the adventurous gliding motility of Myxococcus xanthus: (i) polar secretion of slime and (ii) an unknown motor that uses cell surface adhesion complexes that form periodic attachments along the cell length. Gliding movements of the leading poles of cephalexin-treated filamentous cells were observed but not equivalent movements of the lagging poles. This ...

Gliding motility is defined as translocation in the direction of the long axis of the bacterium while in contact with a surface. This definition leaves unspecified any mechanism and, indeed, it appears that there is more than one physiological system underlying the same type of motion. Currently, two distinct mechanisms have been discovered in myxobacteria. One requires the extension, attachmen...

Apicomplexan parasites exhibit a unique form of substrate-dependent motility, gliding motility, which is essential during their invasion of host cells and during their spread between host cells. This process is dependent on actin filaments and myosin that are both located between the plasma membrane and two underlying membranes of the inner membrane complex. We have identified a protein complex...

Trichoplax is a small disk-shaped marine metazoan that adheres to substrates and locomotes by ciliary gliding. Despite having only six cell types and lacking synapses Trichoplax coordinates a complex sequence of behaviors culminating in external digestion of algae. We combine live cell imaging with electron microscopy to show how this is accomplished. When Trichoplax glides over a patch of alga...