EYE MOVEMENTS AND LIMB KINEMATICS IN MOVING TARGET AIMING

INTRODUCTION: Previous eye movement studies in far target aiming have shown that a longer final eye fixation right before movement initiation results in enhanced performance accuracy (e.g., Vickers, 1996). Previous studies have been limited to fixed target aiming. In the present study eye movements were measured while participants attempted to intercept a moving target. The identification of the relationship between eye movements and limb kinematics in moving target interception will provide further understanding of perceptionaction coupling in rapid intercepting movement

Tsukushi Modulates Xnr2, FGF and BMP Signaling: Regulation of Xenopus Germ Layer Formation

Cell-cell communication is essential in tissue patterning. In early amphibian development, mesoderm is formed in the blastula-stage embryo through inductive interactions in which vegetal cells act on overlying equatorial cells. Members of the TGF-beta family such as activin B, Vg1, derrière and Xenopus nodal-related proteins (Xnrs) are candidate mesoderm inducing factors, with further activity to induce endoderm of the vegetal region. TGF-beta-like ligands, including BMP, are also responsible for patterning of germ layers. In addition, FGF signaling is essential for mesoderm formation whereas FGF signal inhibition has been implicated in endoderm induction. Clearly, several signaling pathways are coordinated to produce an appropriate developmental output; although intracellular crosstalk is known to integrate multiple pathways, relatively little is known about extracellular coordination

Mental acrobatics: Spatial perceptions of human rotation

The primary goal of this dissertation was to understand to what extent are humans capable of accurately perceiving both their own rotations and the rotations of others and how do spatial manipulations of the actor and the perceiver affect the perception of the action. Four experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 examined the perceptual abilities of both expert gymnasts and novices in the accurate judgment of either a left or right rotation by an animated human figure (avatar) in a series of fixed picture plane orientations. Participants responded with either a verbal “left” or “right” and their mean accuracy and mean response time were recorded. Experiment 2 used the same stimulus but the participants were asked to report their answers by way of one of four arrow button combinations; right button corresponded to a right twist, left button corresponded to a right twist, up button corresponded to a right twist and down button corresponded to a right twist. Both mean accuracy and response time were recorded for each group. Experiment 3 mirrored Experiment 1 except the participants were randomly fixed in one of six picture plane orientations from 0° to 300° of rotation. Experiment 4 used the same apparatus as Experiment 3 where the participants were randomly placed in one of six picture plane orientations however the participants were rotated either left or right and were asked to verbally report their own twisting direction. Experiment 4 tested both novices and expert gymnasts. The general results suggest that the task of accurately determining the twisting direction of another human form is challenging and cognitively demanding. Under most conditions accuracy decreased and response time increased as the phase angle between the participant and the avatar approached 180°. In Experiment 1 experts and novices performed the same and were least accurate and took the longest to respond when the avatar was inverted. The results from Experiment 2 suggested a conflict of strategies between the constraints of the task and the inherent challenge of the task. Participants in Experiment 3 were generally uninfluenced by their own picture plane orientation and in almost all combinations of participant and avatar picture plane orientation they were more accurate and faster than the exclusively upright participants in Experiment 1. The experts in Experiment 4 were flawless in their responses and significantly faster than in any other experiment. The novices were also relatively fast but the accuracy of the judgments on their own twisting directions was no better than the participants watching the avatar in Experiment 1. The findings suggest that the general task of determining human rotation as either a left or right turn is so challenging that a number of conflicting strategies may have been employed by the participants to help lessen the cognitive demands of the task. The data speaks to the specificity of expertise and outlines a potential discrepancy between expert observers and expert performers. The data suggests that the use of an internal reference frame during the spatial perception of biological motion may be consistent across conditions regardless of participant orientation

A Training Guide for Library Staff

The College Library strives to be a welcoming and inclusive place for all students, faculty, and staff of The College and the residents of the surrounding communities. The mission statement of the library, and the college as a whole, emphasizes the sense of community and personalized interaction with students. In accordance, library staff are expected to be friendly, competent, and thorough in all interactions with library patrons so it is important that all staff are properly trained and know where to find answers to patron questions. In addition, the library recognizes that many of its patrons never ask for help from a staff member and may only use the library’s online resources. For that reason, it is important that all library systems have data that is consistent, thorough, and clear for patrons to use on their own. This training provides one area where staff can go to find all documentation, job aids, and tutorials that will provide library staff the necessary skills to help patrons fulfill their research needs and requests. The modules cover the most common tasks and questions related to patron customer service, including those related to circulation, requesting items, course reserves, and troubleshooting electronic resources. The trainings use a variety of learning methods, including video tutorials, job aids, and discussion boards to create a thorough training experience

RITA, a novel modulator of Notch signalling, acts via nuclear export of RBP-J

The evolutionarily conserved Notch signal transduction pathway regulates fundamental cellular processes during embryonic development and in the adult. Ligand binding induces presenilin-dependent cleavage of the receptor and a subsequent nuclear translocation of the Notch intracellular domain (NICD). In the nucleus, NICD binds to the recombination signal sequence-binding protein J (RBP-J)/CBF-1 transcription factor to induce expression of Notch target genes. Here, we report the identification and functional characterization of RBP-J interacting and tubulin associated (RITA) (C12ORF52) as a novel RBP-J/CBF-1-interacting protein. RITA is a highly conserved 36 kDa protein that, most interestingly, binds to tubulin in the cytoplasm and shuttles rapidly between cytoplasm and nucleus. This shuttling RITA exports RBP-J/CBF-1 from the nucleus. Functionally, we show that RITA can reverse a Notch-induced loss of primary neurogenesis in Xenopus laevis. Furthermore, RITA is able to downregulate Notch-mediated transcription. Thus, we propose that RITA acts as a negative modulator of the Notch signalling pathway, controlling the level of nuclear RBP-J/CBF-1, where its amounts are limiting