Does Colour Filling-In Account for Colour Perception in Natural Images?

It is popular to attribute the appearance of extended colour fields to a process of filling-in from the differential colour signals at colour edges, where one colour transitions to another. We ask whether such a process can account for the appearance of extended colour fields in natural images. Some form of colour filling-in must underlie the equiluminant colour Craik-O’Brien-Cornsweet effect and the Water colour Effect, but these effects are too weak to account for the appearance of extended colour fields in natural images. Moreover, the graded colour disappearance effect reported as evidence for colour filling-in does not work under natural viewing conditions. We demonstrate that natural images do not look very colourful when their colour is restricted to edge transitions . Moreover, purely chromatic images with maximally graded (‘edgeless’) transitions look fully colourful. Consequently, we conclude that colour filling-in makes no more than a minor contribution to the appearance of extended colour regions in natural images

Cross-Cultural Patterns in College Student Drinking and its Consequences—A Comparison between the USA and Sweden

Aims: The aim of the study was to compare alcohol use, consequences and common risk factors between American and Swedish college students. Methods: A secondary comparative analysis from one American and two Swedish studies in college settings. Results: Swedish freshmen report higher alcohol use than US freshmen students. Swedish residence hall students report higher alcohol use than US residence hall students, but lower than American fraternity/sorority members. US students were less likely to be drinkers. Controlling for age, country moderated the relationship between family history and harmful drinking scores for women (stronger in the USA), and between expectancies and harmful drinking scores for men (stronger in Sweden), though in both cases this represented a small effect and patterns were similar overall. Conclusions: Swedish students are at higher risk for alcohol use than US students, but similar patterns between aetiological predictors and outcomes in both countries suggest that research from the USA is generalizable to Swedish students and vice versa. More research is needed to better understand unique relationships associated with age and family history

K-U Studies of Silica-Rich Inclusions in the Shaw Chondrite

The K/U can be regarded as a "planetary constant" which is invariant during magmatic processes but which differs for cosmochemical reasons between planets. This assumption is universal in all thermal history calculations for planets. K-SiO_2-rich inclusions are found in Shaw which many authors believe is a chondrite which has been subjected to partial melting (Taylor et al., 1979; Rambaldi and Lamimer, 1976). Although the origin of these inclusions is not well understood, it is possible that they represent the first melts or magmatic fluids produced in the formation of planets. Thus it is of interest to see if U and Th have followed K into these liquids. For the case of Shaw some evidence of K/REE fractionation already exists (Rambaldi and Lamimer, 1976). Six polished sections of Shaw with affixed mica fission track detectors were irradiated with ~ 2 x 10^(18)/cm^2 thermal neutrons. Excellent fission track images were obtained with no evidence for any significant contamination. (Random scans on our most-studied section gave 6 ppb U.) The fission track distributions show a high degree of localization. In one section, mapped in great detail, 20-30 large (> 50 micron) fission track localizations, can all be accounted for by whitlockite and chloroapatite. The whitlockite U concentrations (300-700 ppb) are variable, but typical for chondrites. The phosphate grains serve as fiducial points, allowing accurate location of the melt inclusions on the mica track detector (maximum position error= 20 microns). In many cases no localizations of tracks are found (U contents < 10 ppb) corresponding to the K-Si-rich inclusions, but in 7/25 cases localizations are found with U concentrations up to ~ 300 ppb. The inclusions are small (usually< 20μ), and there are many other small track localizations in this size range which have no obvious sources, thus some of these 7 cases may be accidental. However, track mapping at 13 random fields of view showed only 2 localizations (track density 3-4 times surroundings) within 20 microns. The small track localizations of unknown origin can be explained by a combination of buried sources (within 10 microns of surface), local contamination (which can never be ruled out) or localization of U on grain boundaries or cleavage planes in major phases. There is no correlation of U content with inclusion chemistry (K), size, opaque mineralogy, or petrographic location. Many of the inclusions are within large (hundreds of microns) olivine grains, including some that seem U-rich. In two of these cases the track localizations stand out from an almost blank background and match the location and size of the inclusion. It seems inescapable that the tracks do arise from the inclusions in these cases. It may be that these inclusions were a preferential site of contamination during sample preparation or by terrestrial weathering, but it is also possible that U-bearing phases only occasionally participated in the partial melting process. It may be significant that the inclusions contain no P, thus this U reservoir has not participated. Regardless, the important result is that in most cases K was mobilized to a much higher degree than U in the Shaw partial melting event. (The inclusion KIU is at least 10x bulk chondrites.) Although the inclusions are relatively Fe-rich, the concentration of K and Si and the exclusion of U and rare-earths follows the chemical systematics of immiscible silicate melts (Watson, 1976; Ryerson and Hess, 1978). To the extent that Shaw is representative of very small degrees of partial melting in planets, K and U appear to be fractionated

An exploratory cluster randomised trial of a university halls of residence based social norms marketing campaign to reduce alcohol consumption among 1st year students

&lt;p&gt;Aims: This exploratory trial examines the feasibility of implementing a social norms marketing campaign to reduce student drinking in universities in Wales, and evaluating it using cluster randomised trial methodology.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Methods: Fifty residence halls in 4 universities in Wales were randomly assigned to intervention or control arms. Web and paper surveys were distributed to students within these halls (n = 3800), assessing exposure/contamination, recall of and evaluative responses to intervention messages, perceived drinking norms and personal drinking behaviour. Measures included the Drinking Norms Rating Form, the Daily Drinking Questionnaire and AUDIT-C.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Results: A response rate of 15% (n = 554) was achieved, varying substantially between sites. Intervention posters were seen by 80% and 43% of students in intervention and control halls respectively, with most remaining materials seen by a minority in both groups. Intervention messages were rated as credible and relevant by little more than half of students, though fewer felt they would influence their behaviour, with lighter drinkers more likely to perceive messages as credible. No differences in perceived norms were observed between intervention and control groups. Students reporting having seen intervention materials reported lower descriptive and injunctive norms than those who did not.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Conclusions: Attention is needed to enhancing exposure, credibility and perceived relevance of intervention messages, particularly among heavier drinkers, before definitive evaluation can be recommended. A definitive evaluation would need to consider how it would achieve sufficient response rates, whilst hall-level cluster randomisation appears subject to a significant degree of contamination.&lt;/p&gt

The feasibility and effectiveness of a web-based personalised feedback and social norms alcohol intervention in UK university students: A randomised control trial

OBJECTIVE Alcohol misuse amongst University students is a serious concern, and research has started to investigate the feasibility of using e-health interventions. This study aimed to establish the effectiveness of an electronic web-based personalised feedback intervention through the use of a randomised control trial (RCT). METHODS 506 participants were stratified by gender, age group, year of study, self-reported weekly consumption of alcohol and randomly assigned to either a control or intervention condition. Intervention participants received electronic personalised feedback and social norms information on their drinking behaviour which they could access by logging onto the website at any time during the 12-week period. CAGE score, average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per drinking occasion, and alcohol consumption over the last week were collected from participants at pre- and post-survey. RESULTS A significant difference in pre- to post-survey mean difference of alcohol consumed per occasion was found, with those in the intervention condition displaying a larger mean decrease when compared to controls. No intervention effect was found for units of alcohol consumed per week or for CAGE scores. Sixty-three percent of intervention participants agreed that the feedback provided was useful. Those intervention participants who were above the CAGE cut off were more likely to report that the website would make them think more about the amount they drank. CONCLUSIONS Delivering an electronic personalised feedback intervention to students via the World Wide Web is a feasible and potentially effective method of reducing student alcohol intake. Further research is needed to replicate this outcome, evaluate maintenance of any changes, and investigate the process of interaction with web-based interventions

Solar System Processes Underlying Planetary Formation, Geodynamics, and the Georeactor

Only three processes, operant during the formation of the Solar System, are responsible for the diversity of matter in the Solar System and are directly responsible for planetary internal-structures, including planetocentric nuclear fission reactors, and for dynamical processes, including and especially, geodynamics. These processes are: (i) Low-pressure, low-temperature condensation from solar matter in the remote reaches of the Solar System or in the interstellar medium; (ii) High-pressure, high-temperature condensation from solar matter associated with planetary-formation by raining out from the interiors of giant-gaseous protoplanets, and; (iii) Stripping of the primordial volatile components from the inner portion of the Solar System by super-intense solar wind associated with T-Tauri phase mass-ejections, presumably during the thermonuclear ignition of the Sun. As described herein, these processes lead logically, in a causally related manner, to a coherent vision of planetary formation with profound implications including, but not limited to, (a) Earth formation as a giant gaseous Jupiter-like planet with vast amounts of stored energy of protoplanetary compression in its rock-plus-alloy kernel; (b) Removal of approximately 300 Earth-masses of primordial gases from the Earth, which began Earth's decompression process, making available the stored energy of protoplanetary compression for driving geodynamic processes, which I have described by the new whole-Earth decompression dynamics and which is responsible for emplacing heat at the mantle-crust-interface at the base of the crust through the process I have described, called mantle decompression thermal-tsunami; and, (c)Uranium accumulations at the planetary centers capable of self-sustained nuclear fission chain reactions.Comment: Invited paper for the Special Issue of Earth, Moon and Planets entitled Neutrino Geophysics Added final corrections for publicatio

Illicit substance use among university students from seven European countries: A comparison of personal and perceived peer use and attitudes towards illicit substance use

Objective: To compare European students' personal use and approval of illicit substance use with their perceptions of peer behaviours and attitudes, and investigate whether perceptions of peer norms are associated with personal use of illicit substances and attitudes. Method: This study used baseline data fromthe Social Norms Intervention for the prevention of Polydrug usE (SNIPE) project involving 4482 students from seven European countries in 2012. Students completed an online surveywhich included questions on personal and perceived peer illicit substance use and personal and perceived peer attitude towards illicit substances. Results: 8.3% of students reported having used illicit substances at least once in their life. 49.7% of students perceived that the majority of their peers have used illicit substances more frequently than themselves. The perception was significantly associated with higher odds for personal illicit substance use (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.53–2.54). The perception that the majority of peers approve illicit substance use was significantly associated with higher odds for personal approval of illicit substance use (OR: 3.47, 95% CI: 2.73–4.41). Conclusion: Students commonly perceived that their peers used illicit subtances more often than themselves. We found an association between the perceived peer norms/attitudes and reported individual behaviour/ attitudes