High and Intermediate-Mass Young Stellar Objects in the Large Magellanic Cloud

(Abridged) Photometry of archival Spitzer observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) are used to search for young stellar objects (YSOs). Simple mid-infrared selection criteria were used to exclude most normal and evolved stars and background galaxies. We identify a sample of 2,910 sources in the LMC that could potentially be YSOs. We then simultaneously considered images and photometry from the optical through mid-IR wavelengths to assess the source morphology, spectral energy distribution (SED), and the surrounding interstellar environment to determine the most likely nature of each source. From this examination of the initial sample, we suggest 1,172 sources are most likely YSOs and 1,075 probable background galaxies, consistent with expectations based on SWIRE survey data. Spitzer IRS observations of 269 of the brightest YSOs from our sample have confirmed that ~>95% are indeed YSOs. A comprehensive search for YSOs in the LMC has also been carried out by the SAGE team. There are three major differences between these two searches. (1) In the common region of color-magnitude space, ~850 of our 1,172 probable YSOs are missed in the SAGE YSO catalog because their conservative point source identification criteria have excluded YSOs superposed on complex diffuse emission. (2) About 20-30% of the YSOs identified by the SAGE team are sources we classify as background galaxies. (3) the SAGE YSO catalog identifies YSO in parts of color-magnitude space that we excluded and thus contains more evolved or fainter YSOs missed by our analysis. Finally, the mid-IR luminosity functions of our most likely YSO candidates in the LMC can be well described by N(L) propto L^-1, which is consistent with the Salpeter initial mass function if a mass-luminosity relation of L propto M^2.4 is adopted.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 67 pages, 20 figures, 16 tables. A version with full resolution figures is available at http://www.astro.illinois.edu/~gruendl/LMC_YSO.pdf. Full tables available on request or through ApJ

Variation of Laminar Depth in Normal Eyes With Age and Race

PURPOSE. To determine if laminar depth (LD) and prelaminar tissue volume (PTV) are associated with age and race in healthy human eyes. METHODS. Optic nerve head images from enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography of 166 normal eyes from 84 subjects of African descent (AD) and European descent (ED) were manually delineated to identify the principal surfaces: internal limiting membrane, Bruch's membrane (BM), anterior sclera (AS), and anterior surface of the lamina cribrosa. These four surfaces defined the LD and PTV using Bruch's membrane opening (BMO) and AS for reference structures. Generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate whether the effect of age on each outcome was differential by race. RESULTS. When age was analyzed as a continuous variable, the interaction term between age and race was statistically significant for mean LD BMO (P ¼ 0.015) and mean LD AS (P ¼ 0.0062) after adjusting for axial length and BMO area. For every 1-year increase in age, the LD AS was greater on average by 1.78 lm in AD subjects and less by 1.71 lm in ED subjects. Mean PTV was lower in the older subjects (1248 3 10 6 lm 3 AD, 881 3 10 6 lm 3 ED) compared to the younger subjects (1316 3 10 6 lm 3 AD, 1102 3 10 6 lm 3 ED) in both groups. CONCLUSIONS. With increasing age, the LD changes differently across racial groups in normal subjects. The LD in ED subjects showed a significantly decreasing slope suggesting that the lamina moves anteriorly with age in this group. Keywords: lamina cribrosa, laminar depth, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography I ndividuals of African descent (AD) have a higher prevalence of primary open-angle glaucoma with worse visual outcomes from the disease compared to those of European descent (ED). 1-5 Investigation into the many possible causes of this disparity reveals racial and ethnic differences in the anatomy of the optic nerve head (ONH). 3,6-14 Variation in ONH parameters, such as larger optic discs, deeper cups, and thicker overall retinal nerve fiber layer thicknesses in AD individuals

Individual variation in corticosterone and personality traits in the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus

Source: Variation in personality traits is predicted to reflect physiology, but the extent to which variations in stress hormones derive from differences in personality and/or state-dependent factors remains unclear. To investigate this, wild blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) were briefly brought into captivity and scored for personality and corticosterone (Cort) concentrations. More active females had lower baseline Cort than less active individuals. Exploratory tendency and neophobia did not co-vary with baseline Cort. Stress-induced Cort concentrations were correlated negatively with exploratory tendency and haematocrit, but positively with mass gain in captivity. Therefore, baseline and stress-induced Cort concentrations in wintering blue tits were associated with state-dependent variables, sex, age and personality traits. Key to interpreting the physiology of personality traits seems to be their interactions with other traits that mediate ability to utilise resources, and thus influence an individual’s perception of its current and future energy balance

On the persuadability of memory: Is changing people’s memories no more than changing their minds?

The observation of parallels between the memory distortion and persuasion literatures leads, quite logically, to the appealing notion that people can be ‘persuaded’ to change their memories. Indeed, numerous studies show that memory can be influenced and distorted by a variety of persuasive tactics, and the theoretical accounts commonly used by researchers to explain episodic and autobiographical memory distortion phenomena can generally predict and explain these persuasion effects. Yet despite these empirical and theoretical overlaps, explicit reference to persuasion and attitude change research in the memory distortion literature is surprisingly rare. In this paper, we argue that stronger theoretical foundations are needed to draw the memory distortion and persuasion literatures together in a productive direction. We reason that theoretical approaches to remembering that distinguish (false) beliefs in the occurrence of events from (false) memories of those events—compatible with a source monitoring approach—would be beneficial to this end. Such approaches, we argue, would provide a stronger platform to use persuasion findings to enhance the psychological understanding of memory distortion

Getting It Off the Ground: Key Factors Associated With Implementation of Wellness Programs

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many residency programs are developing resident wellness curricula to improve resident well-being and to meet Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education guidelines. However, there is limited guidance on preferred curricular components and implementation. We sought to identify how specific driving factors (eg, having an identified wellness champion with a budget and protected time to develop wellness programs) impact implementation of essential elements of a resident wellness curriculum. METHODS: We surveyed 608 family medicine residency program directors (PDs) in 2018-2019 on available resources for wellness programs, essential wellness elements being implemented, and satisfaction with wellness programming; 251 PDs provided complete responses (42.5% response rate). Linear and logistic regressions were conducted for main analyses. RESULTS: Having an identified wellness champion, protected time, and dedicated budget for wellness were associated with greater implementation of wellness programs and PD satisfaction with wellness programming; of these, funding had the strongest association. Larger programs were implementing more wellness program components. Program setting had no association with implementation. CONCLUSIONS: PDs in programs allocating money and/or faculty time can expect more wellness programming and greater satisfaction with how resident well-being is addressed

Multinomial processing trees as theoretical bridges between cognitive and social psychology

Cognitive and social psychologists have long investigated dual-process theories of automaticity and control. These theories seek to explain and predict the conditions under which people can intentionally control their judgments and behavior in the face of impulses produced by biasing and distracting incidental stimuli. Based on this dual-process perspective, cognitive and social psychologists have developed tasks that create conditions under which impulses act in parallel or in opposition to control-oriented processes—commonly referred to as response conflict tasks. Though the response conflict tasks used by cognitive and social psychologists are often structurally similar, researchers from the two disciplines often interpret performance on such tasks in very different ways: Cognitive psychologists tend to focus on the contributions of control-oriented processes, whereas social psychologists generally focus on the contributions of activated mental associations. Both of these interpretations rest on assumptions of process purity: that a response conflict task reflects either control-oriented processes or mental associations. However, this assumption is untenable. Both types of mental processes jointly influence behavioral responses on most response conflict tasks. Multinomial processing tree models are well suited to assess the contributions of multiple cognitive processes to response conflict tasks commonly used in cognitive and social psychology. In this chapter, we review the applications of multinomial processing trees to response conflict tasks, and highlight their utility in bridging interpretive divides that separate cognitive and social psychologists