Egocentric Reference Frame Bias In The Palmar Haptic Perception Of Surface Orientation

The effect of egocentric reference frames on palmar haptic perception of orientation was investigated in vertically separated locations in a sagittal plane. Reference stimuli to be haptically matched were presented either haptically (to the contralateral hand) or visually. As in prior investigations of haptic orientation perception, a strong egocentric bias was found, such that haptic orientation matches made in the lower part of personal space were much lower (i.e., were perceived as being higher) than those made at eye level. The same haptic bias was observed both when the reference surface to be matched was observed visually and when bimanual matching was used. These findings support the conclusion that, despite the presence of an unambiguous allocentric (gravitational) reference frame in vertical planes, haptic orientation perception in the sagittal plane reflects an egocentric bias

Rosy Retrospection

Master of Fine Art

AGN's Deadness Over Cosmic Time: UVJ Diagrams of X-Ray-Selected AGN

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are intensely accreting supermassive black holes at the centers of massive galaxies. Though these objects occupy little spatial extent of the galaxy itself, they are thought to have far reaching affects, impacting the galaxy's star formation, and possibly it's lifespan until it becomes 'red and dead'. Typical galaxies demonstrate that, over cosmic time, they tend to separate into a bimodal distribution of 'red and dead' or blue and star forming. We examine whether active galaxies evolve over cosmic time in a similar way, and whether this can reveal anything about the complexities of the relationship between an AGN and the host galaxy. We use the Stripe82X survey to identify 3940 X-ray AGN spanning z=0-2.5, and we measure the rest-frame UVJ colors of each galaxy. We classify AGN as star-forming or quiescent based on their location in a UVJ color diagram. We find that there is not a clear bimodal distribution between AGN in star forming and quiescent galaxies. Furthermore, the most luminous X-ray sources tend to lie in the star forming region, which may indicate a correlation between central engine activity and increased rates of star formation.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Household food insecurity positively associated with increased hospital charges for infants

Objective: To test whether household food insecurity (HFI) was associated with total annual hospitalization charges, annual days hospitalized, and charges per day, among low-income infants (months) with any non-neonatal hospital stays. Methods: Administrative inpatient hospital charge data were matched to survey data from infants\u27 caregivers interviewed 1998-2005 in emergency departments in Boston and Little Rock. All study infants had been hospitalized at least once since birth; infants whose diagnoses were not plausibly related to nutrition were excluded from both groups. Log-transformed hospitalization charges were analyzed, controlling for site fixed effects. Results: 24% of infants from food-insecure households and 16% from food-secure households were hospitalized \u3e2 times (P=0.02). Mean annual inpatient hospital charges ($6,707 vs$5,735; P Conclusion: HFI was positively associated with annual inpatient charges among hospitalized low income infants. Average annual inpatient charges were almost $2,000 higher (inflation adjusted) for infants living in food-insecure households. Reducing or eliminating food insecurity could reduce health services utilization and expenditures for infants in low-income families, most of whom are covered by public health insurance

Changes in fish assemblages following the establishment of a network of no-take marine reserves and partially-protected areas

Networks of no-take marine reserves and partially-protected areas (with limited fishing) are being increasingly promoted as a means of conserving biodiversity. We examined changes in fish assemblages across a network of marine reserves and two different types of partially-protected areas within a marine park over the first 5 years of its establishment. We used Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) to quantify fish communities on rocky reefs at 20-40 m depth between 2008-2011. Each year, we sampled 12 sites in 6 no-take marine reserves and 12 sites in two types of partially-protected areas with contrasting levels of protection (n = 4 BRUV stations per site). Fish abundances were 38% greater across the network of marine reserves compared to the partially-protected areas, although not all individual reserves performed equally. Compliance actions were positively associated with marine reserve responses, while reserve size had no apparent relationship with reserve performance after 5 years. The richness and abundance of fishes did not consistently differ between the two types of partially-protected areas. There was, therefore, no evidence that the more regulated partially-protected areas had additional conservation benefits for reef fish assemblages. Overall, our results demonstrate conservation benefits to fish assemblages from a newly established network of temperate marine reserves. They also show that ecological monitoring can contribute to adaptive management of newly established marine reserve networks, but the extent of this contribution is limited by the rate of change in marine communities in response to protection

Testing Lorentz Invariance with Neutrinos from Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Ray Interactions

We have previously shown that a very small amount of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV), which suppresses photomeson interactions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with cosmic background radiation (CBR) photons, can produce a spectrum of cosmic rays that is consistent with that currently observed by the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) and HiRes experiments. Here, we calculate the corresponding flux of high energy neutrinos generated by the propagation of UHECR protons through the CBR in the presence of LIV. We find that LIV produces a reduction in the flux of the highest energy neutrinos and a reduction in the energy of the peak of the neutrino energy flux spectrum, both depending on the strength of the LIV. Thus, observations of the UHE neutrino spectrum provide a clear test for the existence and amount of LIV at the highest energies. We further discuss the ability of current and future proposed detectors make such observations.Comment: final version to appear in Astroparticle Physic

Repartnering: the relevance of parenthood and gender to cohabitation and remarriage among the formerly married

This paper is an exploratory analysis of the impact of current and anticipated parenthood on cohabitation and remarriage among those formerly living in marriage-type relationships. The focus on children is embedded within a broader analysis of repartnering which takes account of other factors, including gender. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are used, with a multivariate analysis of repartnering patterns, using data from the General Household Survey, being complementedby in-depth interview data examining the attitudes of the formerly married to future relationships. The paper demonstrates that parenthood has a statistically significant effect on the likelihood of formerly married women repartnering, with a higher number of children being associated with a lower probability of repartnering. The presence of children can work against repartnering in a variety of ways. Children place demands on their parents and can deter or object to potential partners. Parents may see their parental role as more important than, and a barrier to, new relationships. However, mothers are typically looking for partners for themselves rather than fathers for their children. Among formerly married people without children, the desire to become a parent encourages repartnering. The paper concludes that parenthood should be a key consideration in analyses of repartnering

Adherence to clinical follow-up recommendations for liver function tests: A cross-sectional study of patients with HCV and their associated risk behaviors

This study examined whether patients with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection adhered to their physicians\u27 recommendation and HCV clinical guidelines for obtaining a regular liver function test (LFT), and whether high-risk behaviors are associated with behavioral adherence. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 101 eligible patients with HCV who were recruited from health centers in New Jersey and Washington, DC. Adherence outcomes were defined as the patients\u27 self-report of two consecutive receipts of LFTs in accordance with their physicians\u27 recommended interval or the clinical guidelines for a LFT within 3-6 months. 67.4% of patients (66/98) reported a receipt of their physicians\u27 recommendation for a LFT. The rate of adherence to physician recommendation was about 70% (46/66), however over 50% (52/101) of patients with HCV did not obtain regular LFTs. 15.8% (16/101) of patients continued to use injection drugs. Patients who used injection drugs had 0.87 (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.13, 95% confidence interval 0.03-0.59) times lower odds adhering to their physician recommendation, relative to non-users. Patients with HIV co-infection had increased odds of adhering to the clinical guidelines (odds ratio 3.41, 95% confidence interval 1.34-8.70) vs. patients who did not report HIV co-infection. Additionally, patients who had received a physician\u27s recommendation had 7.21 times (95% confidence interval of 2.36-22.2) greater odds adhering to the clinical guidelines than those who had not. Overall, promoting HCV patient-provider communication regarding regular LFTs and reduction of risk behaviors is essential for preventing patients from HCV-related liver disease progression

AMPK is essential for energy homeostasis regulation and glucose sensing by POMC and AgRP neurons

Hypothalamic AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been suggested to act as a key sensing mechanism, responding to hormones and nutrients in the regulation of energy homeostasis. However, the precise neuronal populations and cellular mechanisms involved are unclear. The effects of long-term manipulation of hypothalamic AMPK on energy balance are also unknown. To directly address such issues, we generated POMC alpha 2KO and AgRP alpha 2KO mice lacking AMPK alpha 2 in proopiomelanocortin- (POMC-) and agouti-related protein-expressing (AgRP-expressing) neurons, key regulators of energy homeostasis. POMC alpha 2KO mice developed obesity due to reduced energy expenditure and dysregulated food intake but remained sensitive to leptin. in contrast, AgRPa2KO mice developed an age-dependent lean phenotype with increased sensitivity to a melanocortin agonist. Electrophysiological studies in AMPK alpha 2-deficient POMC or AgRP neurons revealed normal leptin or insulin action but absent responses to alterations in extracellular glucose levels, showing that glucose-sensing signaling mechanisms in these neurons are distinct from those pathways utilized by leptin or insulin. Taken together with the divergent phenotypes of POMC alpha 2KO and AgRP alpha 2KO mice, our findings suggest that while AMPK plays a key role in hypothalamic function, it does not act as a general sensor and integrator of energy homeostasis in the mediobasal hypothalamus

Constraints on Exotic Mixing of Three Neutrinos

Exotic explanations are considered for atmospheric neutrino observations. Our analysis includes matter effects and the mixing of all three neutrinos under the simplifying assumption of only one relevant mixing scale. Constraints from accelerator, reactor and solar neutrinos are included. We find that the proposed mixing mechanisms based on violations of Lorentz invariance or on violations of the equivalence principle cannot explain the recent observations of atmospheric neutrino mixing. However the data still allow a wide range of energy dependences for the vacuum mixing scale, and also allow large electron-neutrino mixing of atmospheric neutrinos. Next generation long baseline experiments will constrain these possibilities.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figure