Imagined Self-Motion Differs from Perceived Self-Motion: Evidence from a Novel Continuous Pointing Method

Background The extent to which actual movements and imagined movements maintain a shared internal representation has been a matter of much scientific debate. Of the studies examining such questions, few have directly compared actual full-body movements to imagined movements through space. Here we used a novel continuous pointing method to a) provide a more detailed characterization of self-motion perception during actual walking and b) compare the pattern of responding during actual walking to that which occurs during imagined walking. Methodology/Principal Findings This continuous pointing method requires participants to view a target and continuously point towards it as they walk, or imagine walking past it along a straight, forward trajectory. By measuring changes in the pointing direction of the arm, we were able to determine participants' perceived/imagined location at each moment during the trajectory and, hence, perceived/imagined self-velocity during the entire movement. The specific pattern of pointing behaviour that was revealed during sighted walking was also observed during blind walking. Specifically, a peak in arm azimuth velocity was observed upon target passage and a strong correlation was observed between arm azimuth velocity and pointing elevation. Importantly, this characteristic pattern of pointing was not consistently observed during imagined self-motion. Conclusions/Significance Overall, the spatial updating processes that occur during actual self-motion were not evidenced during imagined movement. Because of the rich description of self-motion perception afforded by continuous pointing, this method is expected to have significant implications for several research areas, including those related to motor imagery and spatial cognition and to applied fields for which mental practice techniques are common (e.g. rehabilitation and athletics)

The Mass-Radius Relationship for Very Low Mass Stars: Four New Discoveries from the HATSouth Survey

We report the discovery of four transiting F-M binary systems with companions between 0.1-0.2 Msun in mass by the HATSouth survey. These systems have been characterised via a global analysis of the HATSouth discovery data, combined with high-resolution radial velocities and accurate transit photometry observations. We determined the masses and radii of the component stars using a combination of two methods: isochrone fitting of spectroscopic primary star parameters, and equating spectroscopic primary star rotation velocity with spin-orbit synchronisation. These new very low mass companions are HATS550-016B (0.110 -0.006/+0.005 Msun, 0.147 -0.004/+0.003 Rsun), HATS551-019B (0.17 -0.01/+0.01 Msun, 0.18 -0.01/+0.01 Rsun), HATS551-021B (0.132 -0.005/+0.014 Msun, 0.154 -0.008/+0.006 Rsun), HATS553-001B (0.20 -0.02/+0.01 Msun, 0.22 -0.01/+0.01 Rsun). We examine our sample in the context of the radius anomaly for fully-convective low mass stars. Combining our sample with the 13 other well-studied very low mass stars, we find a tentative 5% systematic deviation between the measured radii and theoretical isochrone models.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

The Learning Curve for Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy

The authors found that the learning curve for robotassisted radical cystectomy is constantly evolving to improve oncologic outcomes

HATS-3b: An inflated hot Jupiter transiting an F-type star

We report the discovery by the HATSouth survey of HATS-3b, a transiting extrasolar planet orbiting a V=12.4 F-dwarf star. HATS-3b has a period of P = 3.5479d, mass of Mp = 1.07MJ, and radius of Rp = 1.38RJ. Given the radius of the planet, the brightness of the host star, and the stellar rotational velocity (vsini = 9.0km/s), this system will make an interesting target for future observations to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect and determine its spin-orbit alignment. We detail the low/medium-resolution reconnaissance spectroscopy that we are now using to deal with large numbers of transiting planet candidates produced by the HATSouth survey. We show that this important step in discovering planets produces logg and Teff parameters at a precision suitable for efficient candidate vetting, as well as efficiently identifying stellar mass eclipsing binaries with radial velocity semi-amplitudes as low as 1 km/s.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, submitted to A

HATS-5b: A Transiting hot-Saturn from the HATSouth Survey

We report the discovery of HATS-5b, a transiting hot-Saturn orbiting a G type star, by the HAT-South survey. HATS-5b has a mass of Mp=0.24 Mj, radius of Rp=0.91 Rj, and transits its host star with a period of P=4.7634d. The radius of HATS-5b is consistent with both theoretical and empirical models. The host star has a V band magnitude of 12.6, mass of 0.94 Msun, and radius of 0.87 Rsun. The relatively high scale height of HATS-5b, and the bright, photometrically quiet host star, make this planet a favourable target for future transmission spectroscopy follow-up observations. We reexamine the correlations in radius, equilibrium temperature, and metallicity of the close-in gas-giants, and find hot Jupiter-mass planets to exhibit the strongest dependence between radius and equilibrium temperature. We find no significant dependence in radius and metallicity for the close-in gas-giant population.Comment: 10 pages, submitted to A