When perception says "no" to action: Approach cues make steep hills appear even steeper

Previous research has established that people's resources and action capabilities influence visual perception, and for example, make hills appear more or less steep. What has remained unexamined, however, is whether perception also changes when an action is impending. We propose that when action is expected in an environment that is challenging because it poses high energetic costs, perceptual estimates are increased. Experiment 1 showed that motor movements of approach led to steeper slant estimates than motor movements of avoidance, but only if participants were in good physical condition and thus capable of undertaking costly actions. Experiment 2 used a mindset priming task and found that approach resulted in higher slant estimates than either avoidance, or a neutral control condition, again for participants who were in good, but not for those in poor physical condition. Experiment 3 further showed that the approach cue on its own had the same effect as when combined with instructions that climbing was involved, thus suggesting that approach manipulations indeed implied the action of climbing. However, the effect of approach disappeared when climbing was explicitly ruled out. We suggest that inflated perceptual visual estimates in the face of challenging environments are adaptive because they discourage future actions that may be costly to perform

Histološka različitost u koštanoj biopsiji postmenopauzalnih i osteoporotičnih žena

Many investigations have been carried out on osteoporosis and showed this disorder in a new light. The reduction in bone structure and dynamics points to the etiology that may be of therapeutic significance. Today we still do not know everything about the histomorphometric characteristics of each metabolic disturbance and bone disease. Bone biopsy and histomorphometry are not available for most patients and that is the reason why a broad classification of these reductions in osteoporosis and osteomalacia are widely accepted in clinical practice. New findings from this complex domain are necessary to design a strategy in the evolution of new therapeutic devices and drugs with the intention to decrease the high disability and mortality rate in the vulnerable population of postmenopausal women.Brojna istraživanja provedena posljednjih godina pokazala su osteoporozu u novom svjetlu. Promjene u koštanoj strukturi i dinamici upućuju na etiologiju poremećaja, što je od presudnog značenja za liječenje bolesti. S obzirom na činjenicu da još uvijek malo znamo o histomorfometrijskim značajkama pojedinih metaboličnih bolesti te da je biopsija kosti i histomorfometrija još uvijek teže dostupna većem broju bolesnika, danas se u kliničkoj praksi uglavnom rabi klinička klasifikacija po kojoj se one dijele u dvije široke kategorije: osteoporozu i osteomalaciju. Nova saznanja iz ovoga područja su od presudne važnosti za planiranje buduće strategije razvoja novih terapijskih sredstava i lijekova kako bi se smanjio visok postotak invaliditeta i smrtnosti u osjetljivoj populaciji postmenopauzalnih žena

Sub-millimeter galaxies as progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies

Three billion years after the big bang (at redshift z=2), half of the most massive galaxies were already old, quiescent systems with little to no residual star formation and extremely compact with stellar mass densities at least an order of magnitude larger than in low redshift ellipticals, their descendants. Little is known about how they formed, but their evolved, dense stellar populations suggest formation within intense, compact starbursts 1-2 Gyr earlier (at 3<z<6). Simulations show that gas-rich major mergers can give rise to such starbursts which produce dense remnants. Sub-millimeter selected galaxies (SMGs) are prime examples of intense, gas-rich, starbursts. With a new, representative spectroscopic sample of compact quiescent galaxies at z=2 and a statistically well-understood sample of SMGs, we show that z=3-6 SMGs are consistent with being the progenitors of z=2 quiescent galaxies, matching their formation redshifts and their distributions of sizes, stellar masses and internal velocities. Assuming an evolutionary connection, their space densities also match if the mean duty cycle of SMG starbursts is 42 (+40/-29) Myr (consistent with independent estimates), which indicates that the bulk of stars in these massive galaxies were formed in a major, early surge of star-formation. These results suggests a coherent picture of the formation history of the most massive galaxies in the universe, from their initial burst of violent star-formation through their appearance as high stellar-density galaxy cores and to their ultimate fate as giant ellipticals.Comment: ApJ (in press

The VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project: continuum data and source catalog release

We present the VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project based on 384 hours of observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at 3 GHz (10 cm) toward the two square degree Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field. The final mosaic reaches a median rms of 2.3 uJy/beam over the two square degrees at an angular resolution of 0.75". To fully account for the spectral shape and resolution variations across the broad (2 GHz) band, we image all data with a multiscale, multifrequency synthesis algorithm. We present a catalog of 10,830 radio sources down to 5 sigma, out of which 67 are combined from multiple components. Comparing the positions of our 3 GHz sources with those from the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)-COSMOS survey, we estimate that the astrometry is accurate to 0.01" at the bright end (signal-to-noise ratio, S/N_3GHz > 20). Survival analysis on our data combined with the VLA-COSMOS 1.4~GHz Joint Project catalog yields an expected median radio spectral index of alpha=-0.7. We compute completeness corrections via Monte Carlo simulations to derive the corrected 3 GHz source counts. Our counts are in agreement with previously derived 3 GHz counts based on single-pointing (0.087 square degrees) VLA data. In summary, the VLA-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project simultaneously provides the largest and deepest radio continuum survey at high (0.75") angular resolution to date, bridging the gap between last-generation and next-generation surveys

Biophilic architecture: a review of the rationale and outcomes

Contemporary cities have high stress levels, mental health issues, high crime levels and ill health, while the built environment shows increasing problems with urban heat island effects and air and water pollution. Emerging from these concerns is a new set of design principles and practices where nature needs to play a bigger part called “biophilic architecture”. This design approach asserts that humans have an innate connection with nature that can assist to make buildings and cities more effective human abodes. This paper examines the evidence for this innate human psychological and physiological link to nature and then assesses the emerging research supporting the multiple social, environmental and economic benefits of biophilic architecture

Pandemic related changes in social interaction are associated with changes in automatic approach-avoidance behaviour

People's natural tendencies to either approach or avoid different stimuli in their environment are considered fundamental motivators of human behaviour. There is a wealth of research exploring how changes in approach and avoidance motivational orientations impact behaviour with consequences for wellbeing. However, research has seldom explored this relationship in reverse. The COVID-19 pandemic offered a unique opportunity to explore whether widespread changes in social behaviour are associated with changes in automatic approach-avoidance tendencies over time. We gathered online survey data on people's adherence to 7 of the prescribed social restrictions set out by the UK government and people's automatic approach-avoidance tendencies in response to different stimuli (sad/happy faces and social scenes) at three time points during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduced-overall-interaction (digital and in person) was found to be significantly associated with faster avoidance relative to approach of sad faces. The results suggest that automatic approach-avoidance tendencies may function to protect people against the typically negative experience of reduced social interaction, with important implications for understanding public resilience during times of crisis, and beyond

The lycopene content in pulp and peel of five fresh tomato cultivars

The lycopene content in pulp and peel of five fresh tomato cultivars, most common on Croatian market, was determined by spectrophotometry and the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Peels from the raw tomatoes contained more lycopene (expressed on a fresh basis) than the pulps: the ratio was 3.75±1.08 for spectrophotometric and 3.50±0.95 for HPLC measurements. Comparison of the results of lycopene content expressed on a dry weight basis revealed that the peel from raw tomato contains 1.74±0.36 times (spectrophotometry) more lycopene than the pulp as compared to a factor of 1.61±0.24 obtained by HPLC analysis. Fraction of the pulp in a whole tomato was found to vary between 89.9 and 95.2%, while that of tomato peel was between 4.9 and 10.1%. Nutritional habits in Croatia often include tomato-based food, all year around, prepared partlyof whole fresh tomatoes (including peel), partly of industrial tomato products (from which peel is often excluded). This study provides evidence that the peel of one of the most common varieties of tomatoes on Croatian market is richer in lycopene than the pulp and, moreover, that a diet including 100 g of raw tomatoes provides 1.35±0.29 mg lycopene from pulp as compared to 0.35±0.18 mg lycopene from tomato peel. In addition, results of this study will be useful in further attempts to quantify lycopene content of intact, whole tomatoes by means of the nondestructive, photoacoustic method

Sudden bilateral hearing loss in gastric cancer as the only symptom of disease

Zoran Rakusic,1 Ana Misir Krpan,1 Darija Stupin Polancec,2 Antonia Jakovcevic,3 Vesna Bisof1 1Department of Oncology, University Hospital Center Zagreb, 2Fidelta Ltd for Research and Development, 3Department of Pathology, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia Abstract: This paper reports a case of sudden bilateral deafness as the first symptom of gastric cancer, an extremely rare and atypical clinical situation. Because common signs of stomach cancer were absent, the patient was first evaluated in the Department of Otolaryngology, University Hospital Center, Zagreb. Only after expanded diagnostic evaluation and rapid progression of the disease in such a case is a malignant tumor suspected. Treatment is mostly ineffective. The unusual presentation of the disease and the rapid course may indicate a hereditary predisposition. Inactivation of tumor suppressor gene DFNA5 was found in 50% of gastric cancers, but of a non-metastasized phenotype. Inactivated DFNA5, otherwise described in hereditary bilateral deafness, perhaps favors the development of deafness in patients with gastric cancer. Our patient had a positive multiple viral antibody titer in serum, inactivated DFNA5 in both gastric cancer tissues and cerebellar metastases, and a metastatic form of the disease. If sudden deafness occurs in elderly patients, the possibility of malignant tumor should be taken into consideration. The link between gastric cancer and the DFNA5 gene is unclear and requires further research. Keywords: deafness, gastric cancer, DFNA5 gene, meningeal carcinomatosi

Prior Programming Experience of Undergraduate Computing and Engineering Students in Ireland

Historically programming has not been a subject studied at 2nd level in Ireland, and degree programmes in Irish 3rd level institutions have taken a ‘From-scratch’ approach to the teaching of programming. It has become apparent that increasing numbers of students arriving into undergraduate computing and engineering degree programmes in Irish 3rd-level institutions have prior experience of computer programming, and the situation regarding the teaching of programming in the Irish School system is currently changing

Pedagogía progresiva para la innovación a través del arte, la ciencia y la tecnología

Even if aiming at technical innovation, an interdisciplinary curriculum can and should include social values. The Master Module in Art, Science and Technology project attempted to do so by developing the innovation catalyst profile, a graduate who critically reflects on the creation process by combining art thinking and design thinking. Within a pilot of the MAST module students from three universities responded to timely challenges such as ‘The Future of Work’ and ‘Solidarity,’ through which the project staff tested progressive pedagogical solutions like cross-disciplinary mentoring and situated knowledge sharing. Introducing European social values in both artistic and technical education, the article presents models, experiments and inspirations discussed against discursive analysis and course evaluation data. In order to support not only inclusive but also sustainable teaching and learning approaches, novel methods and tools may become daringly innovative as well as critical of both their pedagogical and the wider social setting.Incluso cuando orientado a la innovación técnica, un plan de estudios interdisciplinario puede y debe incluir valores sociales. El proyecto del Módulo de Maestría en Arte, Ciencia y Tecnología intentó hacerlo desarrollando el catalizador de la innovación, un graduado que analiza críticamente el proceso de creación combinando el pensamiento artístico y el pensamiento de diseño. Durante un piloto del módulo MAST, los estudiantes de tres universidades respondieron a desafíos oportunos como ‘El futuro del trabajo’ y ‘Solidaridad’, a través de los cuales fueron prototipadas soluciones pedagógicas progresivas como la tutoría interdisciplinaria y el intercambio de conocimientos de carácter situados. Para introducir los valores sociales europeos en la educación artística y técnica, este artículo presenta modelos, experimentos e inspiraciones contrapuestos al análisis discursivo y presenta los datos de evaluación de los cursos. Con el fin de contribuir no solamente a una enseñanza y aprendizaje inclusivos, sino también sostenibles, las nuevas metodologías y herramientas propuestas pueden volverse atrevidamente innovadoras y críticas tanto de su entorno pedagógico como social en general