128 research outputs found
Many hands make light work : The facilitative role of gesture in verbal improvisation
This document is the accepted manuscript version of the following article: Carine Lewis, Peter Lovatt, and Elizabeth Kirk, ‘Many hands make light work: the facilitative role of gesture in verbal improvisation’, Thinking Skills and Creativity, Vol 17, pp. 149-157, September 2015, first published online 25 June 2015. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. The version of record is available online at doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2015.06.001 © 2015 Elsevier. All rights reserved.Verbal improvisation is cognitively demanding, placing great burden on working memory as the speaker is tasked to generate a novel, spontaneous narrative. It is at this point of cognitive overload when individuals pursuing other creative tasks would typically shift the burden and externalise some of their thinking. How do successful verbal improvisers manage without shifting some of their workload into an external space? We argue in this paper that the improviser makes use of what is, quite literally, to hand. Ninety participants were asked to take part in a one-to-one improvisation task and a control task, order counterbalanced, in which they were engaged in a brief conversation to elicit every day speech. Participants' gestures were analysed in both conditions and improvisations rated for quality. As predicted, participants gestured significantly more in the improvisation condition. An analysis of gesture type revealed that improvising elicited greater iconic and deictic gestures, whereas everyday speech was more likely to be accompanied by self-adaptor gestures. Gesture rate was related to the quality of the improvisation, with both the strongest and weakest improvisers producing the most gestures. These gestures revealed the extent to which participants used gestures to facilitate the improvisation task. The strongest improvisers elicited a higher gesture rate for iconic and beat gestures, while weakest improvisers produced more gestures in reference to the abstract, improvisation object. Findings are discussed in relation to the idea that gesture can facilitate performance in verbal improvisation.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
Gesture Facilitates Children’s Creative Thinking
Gestures help people think and can help offer new ideas to problem solvers. We conducted two experiments exploring the self-oriented function of gesture in a novel domain; creative thinking. In Experiment 1 we explored the relationship between children’s spontaneous gesture production and their ability to generate novel uses for everyday items (Alternative Uses Task). There was a significant correlation between children’s creative fluency and their gesture production, with the majority of children’s gestures depicting an action upon the target object. Restricting children from gesturing did not significantly reduce their fluency. In Experiment 2 we encouraged children to gesture and this significantly boosted their creative idea generation. These findings demonstrate that gestures serve an important self-oriented function and can assist creative thinking
Interferon α/β and Interleukin 12 Responses to Viral Infections: Pathways Regulating Dendritic Cell Cytokine Expression In Vivo
Interferon (IFN)-α/β and interleukin (IL)-12 are cytokines critical in defense against viruses, but their cellular sources and mechanisms of regulation for in vivo expression remain poorly characterized. The studies presented here identified a novel subset of dendritic cells (DCs) as major producers of the cytokines during murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) but not lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infections. These DCs differed from those activated by Toxoplasma antigen but were related to plasmacytoid cells, as assessed by their CD8α+Ly6G/C+CD11b− phenotype. Another DC subset (CD8α2Ly6G/C−CD11b+) also contributed to IL-12 production in MCMV-infected immunocompetent mice, modestly. However, it dramatically increased IL-12 expression in the absence of IFN-α/β functions. Conversely, IFN-α/β production was greatly reduced under these conditions. Thus, a cross-regulation of DC subset cytokine responses was defined, whereby secretion of type I IFNs by CD8α+ DCs resulted in responses limiting IL-12 expression by CD11b+ DCs but enhancing overall IFN-α/β production. Taken together, these data indicate that CD8α+Ly6G/C+CD11b− DCs play important roles in limiting viral replication and regulating immune responses, through cytokine production, in some but not all viral infections. They also illustrate the plasticity of cellular sources for innate cytokines in vivo and provide new insights into the roles of IFNs in shaping immune responses to viruses
Comparison of Small- and Large-Footprint Lidar Characterization of Tropical Forest Aboveground Structure and Biomass: A Case Study From Central Gabon
NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamic Investigation (GEDI) mission has been designed to measure forest structure using lidar waveforms to sample the earth's vegetation while in orbit aboard the International Space Station. In this paper, we used airborne large-footprint (LF) lidar measurements to simulate GEDI observations from which we retrieved ground elevation, vegetation height, and aboveground biomass (AGB). GEDI-like product accuracy was then assessed by comparing them to similar products derived from airborne small-footprint (SF) lidar measurements. The study focused on tropical forests and used data collected during the NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) AfriSAR ground and airborne campaigns in the Lope National Park in Central Gabon. The measurements covered a gradient of successional stages of forest development with different height, canopy density, and topography. The comparison of the two sensors shows that LF lidar waveforms and simulated waveforms from SF lidar are equivalent in their ability to estimate ground elevation (RMSE = 0.5 m, bias = 0.29 m) and maximum forest height (RMSE = 2.99 m, bias = 0.24 m) over the study area. The difference in the AGB estimated from both lidar instruments at the 1-ha spatial scale is small over the entire study area (RMSE = 6.34 Mg·ha-1, bias = 11.27 Mg·ha-1) and the bias is attributed to the impact of ground slopes greater than 10–20° on the LF lidar measurements of forest height. Our results support the ability of GEDILF lidar to measure the complex structure of humid tropical forests and provide AGB estimates comparable to SF-derived ones
Frequency of the dopamine receptor D3 (rs6280) vs. opioid receptor µ1 (rs1799971) polymorphic risk alleles in patients with opioid use disorder: A preponderance of dopaminergic mechanisms?
While opioids are a powerful class of drugs that inhibit transmission of pain signals, their use is tarnished by the current epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) and overdose deaths. Notwithstanding published reports, there remain gaps in our knowledge of opioid receptor mechanisms and their role in opioid seeking behavior. Thus, novel insights into molecular, neurogenetic and neuropharmacological bases of OUD are needed. We propose that an addictive endophenotype may not be entirely specific to the drug of choice but rather may be generalizable to altered brain reward circuits impacting net mesocorticolimbic dopamine release. We suggest that genetic or epigenetic alterations across dopaminergic reward systems lead to uncontrollable self-administration of opioids and other drugs. For instance, diminished availability via knockout of dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) increases vulnerability to opioids. Building upon this concept via the use of a sophisticated polymorphic risk analysis in a human cohort of chronic opioid users, we found evidence for a higher frequency of polymorphic DRD3 risk allele (rs6280) than opioid receptor µ1 (rs1799971). In conclusion, while opioidergic mechanisms are involved in OUD, dopamine-related receptors may have primary influence on opioid-seeking behavior in African Americans. These findings suggest OUD-targeted novel and improved neuropharmacological therapies may require focus on DRD3-mediated regulation of dopaminergic homeostasis
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Enhanced water loss during the Mars Year 34 C storm
We investigate the evolving water vapour and hydrogen distribution in the martian atmosphere and their associated effect on hydrogen escape during the Mars Year (MY) 34 C storm (a late winter regional dust storm that occurs every Mars year). Improved calculation of the integrated loss of water throughout Mars‘ history (that is currently not well constrained) is possible throughtracking the water loss through time from global simulations constrained by available observations. Through constraining water loss we can provide better insight into planetary evolution.
The Open University modelling group global circulation model is combined with retrievals from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (temperature and water vapour profiles from the Atmospheric Chemistry Suite and water vapour profiles from the Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery instrument) and the Mars Climate Sounder (temperature profiles and dust column) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This multi-spacecraft assimilation provides the best possible replication of the evolving lower atmosphere.
The unusually intense dusty conditions during the MY 34 C storm led to increased amounts of water vapour and hydrogen above 80 km compared to a more typical C storm, which had an important impact on the amount of water escaping Mars’ atmosphere. Modelled hydrogen escape rates during the MY 34 C storm peaked at around 1.4 x 109 cm-2 s-1, three times the escape rate calculated in the MY 30 C storm scenario and equivalent to those found during previous global-scale dust storms. The weak MY 30 C storm and strong MY 34 C storm can be seen as a bracketing pair of events and therefore the calculated escape rates represent the interannual variabiity expected during C storm events.
Our results indicate water loss during the C storm event each year is highly variable, and must be considered when calculating the integrated loss of water through Mars’ history
On the relative role of convection, chemistry, and transport over the South Pacific Convergence Zone during PEM-Tropics B: A case study
A mesoscale 3D model (Meso‐NH) is used to assess the relative importance of convection (transport and scavenging), chemistry, and advection in the vertical redistribution of HOx and their precursors in the upper tropical troposphere. The study is focused on marine deep convection over the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) during the PEM‐Tropics B Flight 10 aircraft mission. The model reproduces well the HOx mixing ratios. Vertical variations and the contrast between north and south of the SPCZ for O3 are captured. Convection uplifted O3‐poor air at higher altitude, creating a minimum in the 9–12 km region, in both modeled and observed profiles. The model captured 60% of the observed HCHO variance but fails to reproduce a peak of HCHO mixing ratio at 300 hPa sampled during the northern spirals. Simulated HCHO mixing ratios underestimate observations in the marine boundary layer. In the model, convection is not an efficient process to increase upper tropospheric HCHO, and HCHO is unlikely to serve as a primary source of HOx. Convection plays an important role in the vertical distribution of CH3OOH with efficient vertical transport from the boundary layer to the 10–15 km region where it can act as a primary source of HOx. The SPCZ region acts as a barrier to mixing of tropical and subtropical air at the surface and at high altitudes (above 250 hPa). The 400–270 hPa region over the convergence zone was more permeable, allowing subtropical air masses from the Southern Hemisphere to mix with tropical air from NE of the SPCZ and to be entrained in the SPCZ‐related convection. In this altitude range, exchange of subtropical and tropical air also occurs via airflow, bypassing the convective region SW and proceeding toward the north of the SPCZ
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Vertical Aerosol Distribution and Mesospheric Clouds From ExoMars UVIS
The vertical opacity structure of the martian atmosphere is important for understanding the distribution of ice (water and carbon dioxide) and dust. We present a new data set of extinction opacity profiles from the NOMAD/UVIS spectrometer aboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, covering one and a half Mars Years (MY) including the MY 34 Global Dust Storm and several regional dust storms. We discuss specific mesospheric cloud features and compare with existing literature and a Mars Global Climate Model (MGCM) run with data assimilation. Mesospheric opacity features, interpreted to be water ice, were present during the global and regional dust events and correlate with an elevated hygropause in the MGCM, providing evidence that regional dust storms can boost transport of vapor to mesospheric altitudes (with potential implications for atmospheric escape). The season of the dust storms also had an apparent impact on the resulting lifetime of the cloud features, with events earlier in the dusty season correlating with longer‐lasting mesospheric cloud layers. Mesospheric opacity features were also present during the dusty season even in the absence of regional dust storms, and interpreted to be water ice based on previous literature. The assimilated MGCM temperature structure agreed well with the UVIS opacities, but the MGCM opacity field struggled to reproduce mesospheric ice features, suggesting a need for further development of water ice parameterizations. The UVIS opacity data set offers opportunities for further research into the vertical aerosol structure of the martian atmosphere, and for validation of how this is represented in numerical models
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First Detection and Thermal Characterization of Terminator CO<sub>2</sub> Ice Clouds With ExoMars/NOMAD
We present observations of terminator CO2 ice clouds events in three groups: Equatorial dawn, Equatorial dusk (both between 20°S and 20°N) and Southern midlatitudes at dawn (45°S and 55°S east of Hellas Basin) with ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter's Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery instrument. CO2 ice abundance is retrieved simultaneously with water ice, dust, and particle sizes, and rotational temperature and CO2 column profiles in 16 of 26 cases. Small particles (2 ice is sometimes detected in unsaturated air together with dust nuclei at dawn, suggesting ongoing sublimation. Depending on latitude and local time, the interplay between particle precipitation and the lifetime of temperature minima (i.e., cold pockets) determines CO2 ice properties
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