6 research outputs found
Project overview and update on WEAVE: the next generation wide-field spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope
We present an overview of and status report on the WEAVE next-generation
spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). WEAVE
principally targets optical ground-based follow up of upcoming ground-based
(LOFAR) and space-based (Gaia) surveys. WEAVE is a multi-object and multi-IFU
facility utilizing a new 2-degree prime focus field of view at the WHT, with a
buffered pick-and-place positioner system hosting 1000 multi-object (MOS)
fibres, 20 integral field units, or a single large IFU for each observation.
The fibres are fed to a single spectrograph, with a pair of 8k(spectral) x 6k
(spatial) pixel cameras, located within the WHT GHRIL enclosure on the
telescope Nasmyth platform, supporting observations at R~5000 over the full
370-1000nm wavelength range in a single exposure, or a high resolution mode
with limited coverage in each arm at R~20000. The project is now in the final
design and early procurement phase, with commissioning at the telescope
expected in 2017.Comment: 11 pages, 11 Figures, Summary of a presentation to Astronomical
Telescopes and Instrumentation 201
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Craving among individuals with stimulant use disorder in residential social model-based treatment - Can exercise help?
BACKGROUND: In a randomized controlled 8-week trial, we examined the efficacy of aerobic and resistance exercise in reducing craving for methamphetamine (MA) among individuals with MA-use disorder during residential treatment. METHODS: Individuals with MA use disorder (138) who were newly enrolled in residential treatment volunteered for random assignment to either an 8-week exercise intervention (EX) or health education control (HE), with both conditions meeting 3 times weekly; 3 dropped out of the trial, bringing the analysis sample to 135. The majority of participants were male (80%), and 48% were Latino/Hispanic. The mean age of the sample was 31.7 (SD = 6.9) years. Using multivariate mixed models, differences between conditions were examined in: (1) craving for MA, measured by self-reported ratings on a Visual Analog Scale over the 8-week trial and, (2) MA use, measured by self-report and urine drug screens at baseline and 30 and 60 days after discharge from the 8-week study. RESULTS: Results revealed significantly lower craving scores among the participants in the EX group than those in the HE group over the 8-week trial (median daily craving score for EX = 13.5, for HE = 21.8; p = .009). In addition, participants with less craving during treatment had significantly lower rates of MA use after discharge than participants with high craving measured at 30-days (p = .004) and 60-days post-discharge (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Results support the utility of incorporating a structured exercise program for individuals with MA-use disorder to reduce craving and improve MA-use outcomes
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Recovery from Proactive Semantic Interference in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Normal Aging: Relationship to Atrophy in Brain Regions Vulnerable to Alzheimer's Disease
There is growing evidence that proactive semantic interference (PSI) and failure to recover from PSI may represent early features of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
This study investigated the association between PSI, recovery from PSI, and reduced MRI volumes in AD signature regions among cognitively impaired and unimpaired older adults.
Performance on the LASSI-L (a novel test of PSI and recovery from PSI) and regional brain volumetric measures were compared between 38 cognitively normal (CN) elders and 29 older participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The relationship between MRI measures and performance on the LASSI-L as well as traditional memory and non-memory cognitive measures was also evaluated in both diagnostic groups.
Relative to traditional neuropsychological measures, MCI patients' failure to recover from PSI was associated with reduced volumes in the hippocampus (rs = 0.48), precuneus (rs = 0.50); rostral middle frontal lobules (rs = 0.54); inferior temporal lobules (rs = 0.49), superior parietal lobules (rs = 0.47), temporal pole (rs = 0.44), and increased dilatation of the inferior lateral ventricle (rs = -0.49). For CN elders, only increased inferior lateral ventricular size was associated with vulnerability to PSI (rs = -0.49), the failure to recover from PSI (rs = -0.57), and delayed recall on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (rs = -0.48).
LASSI-L indices eliciting failure to recover from PSI were more highly associated with more MRI regional biomarkers of AD than other traditional cognitive measures. These results as well as recent amyloid imaging studies with otherwise cognitively normal subjects, suggest that recovery from PSI may be a sensitive marker of preclinical AD and deserves further investigation