The Frequency of Hot Jupiters in the Galaxy: Results from the SuperLupus Survey

We present the results of the SuperLupus Survey for transiting hot Jupiter planets, which monitored a single Galactic disk field spanning 0.66 deg2 for 108 nights over three years. Ten candidates were detected: one is a transiting planet, two remain candidates, and seven have been subsequently identified as false positives. We construct a new image quality metric, Sj , based on the behavior of 26,859 light curves, which allows us to discard poor images in an objective and quantitative manner. Furthermore, in some cases we are able to identify statistical false positives by analyzing temporal correlations between Sj and transit signatures. We use Monte Carlo simulations to measure our detection efficiency by injecting artificial transits onto real light curves and applying identical selection criteria as used in our survey. We find at 90% confidence level that 0.10+0.27- 0.08% of dwarf stars host a hot Jupiter with a period of 1-10 days. Our results are consistent with other transit surveys, but appear consistently lower than the hot Jupiter frequencies reported from radial velocity surveys, a difference we attribute, at least in part, to the difference in stellar populations probed. In light of our determination of the frequency of hot Jupiters in Galactic field stars, previous null results for transiting planets in open cluster and globular cluster surveys no longer appear anomalously low

Cognitive Training in Parkinson\u27s Disease: A Review of Studies from 2000 to 2014

Cognitive deficits are prevalent among patients with Parkinson\u27s disease (PD), in both early and late stages of the disease. These deficits are associated with lower quality of life, loss of independence, and institutionalization. To date, there is no effective pharmacological treatment for the range of cognitive impairments presented in PD. Cognitive training (CT) has been explored as an alternative approach to remediating cognition in PD. In this review we present a detailed summary of 13 studies of CT that have been conducted between 2000 and 2014 and a critical examination of the evidence for the effectiveness and applicability of CT in PD. Although the evidence shows that CT leads to short-term, moderate improvements in some cognitive functions, methodological inconsistencies weaken these results. We discuss several key limitations of the literature to date, propose methods of addressing these questions, and outline the future directions that studies of CT in PD should pursue. Studies need to provide more detail about the cognitive profile of participants, include larger sample sizes, be hypothesis driven, and be clearer about the training interventions and the outcome measures

SuperLupus: A Deep, Long Duration Transit Survey

SuperLupus is a deep transit survey monitoring a Galactic Plane field in the Southern hemisphere. The project is building on the successful Lupus Survey, and will double the number of images of the field from 1700 to 3400, making it one of the longest duration deep transit surveys. The immediate motivation for this expansion is to search for longer period transiting planets (5-8 days) and smaller radii planets. It will also provide near complete recovery for the shorter period planets (1-3 days). In March, April, and May 2008 we obtained the new images and work is currently in progress reducing these new data.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of IAU Symposium 253, 2008: Transiting Planet

Conceptualising, operationalising and measuring the player experience in videogames

The player experience is at the core of videogame play. Understanding the facets of player experience presents many research challenges, as the phenomenon sits at the intersection of psychology, design, human-computer interaction, sociology, and physiology. This workshop brings together an interdisciplinary group of researchers to systematically and rigorously analyse all aspects of the player experience. Methods and tools for conceptualising, operationalising and measuring the player experience form the core of this research. Our aim is to take a holistic approach to identifying, adapting and extending theories and models of the player experience, to understand how these theories and models interact, overlap and differ, and to construct a unified vision for future research

The People-Game-Play model for understanding videogames' impact on wellbeing

Given the increasing popularity of videogames, understanding when, how and for whom they have a positive or negative impact on wellbeing is critical. We propose a model for exploring these questions based on existing literature and our own research. The People-Game-Play model identifies player characteristics, game features and the experience of play as key determinants of the impact of videogame play on wellbeing. We propose research exploring the relationships within and between each of these key factors is needed and identify some examples of future research in this space

Pramipexole increases go timeouts but not No-go errors in healthy volunteers

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by motor symptoms, such as resting tremor, bradykinesia and rigidity, but also features non-motor complications. PD patients taking dopaminergic therapy, such as levodopa but especially dopamine agonists (DAs), evidence an increase in impulse control disorders (ICDs), suggesting a link between dopaminergic therapy and impulsive pursuit of pleasurable activities. However, impulsivity is a multifaceted construct. Motor impulsivity refers to the inability to overcome automatic responses or cancel pre-potent responses. Previous research has suggested that PD patients, on dopaminergic medications, have decreased motor impulsivity. Whether effects on impulsivity are main effects of dopaminergic therapies or are specific to PD is unclear. Using a Go No-go task, we investigated the effect of a single dose of the DA pramipexole on motor impulsivity in healthy participants. The Go No-go task consisted of Go trials, for which keystroke responses were made as quickly as possible, and lesser frequency No-go trials, on which motor responses were to be inhibited. We hypothesized that pramipexole would decrease motor impulsivity. This would manifest as: (a) fewer No-go errors (i.e., fewer responses on trials in which a response ought to have been inhibited); and (b) more timed-out Go trials (i.e., more trials on which the deadline elapsed before a decision to make a keystroke occurred). Healthy volunteers were treated with either 0.5 mg of pramipexole or a standard placebo (randomly determined). During the 2-h wait period, they completed demographic, cognitive, physiological and affective measures. The pramipexole group had significantly more Go timeouts (p \u3c 0.05) compared to the placebo group though they did not differ in percent of No-go errors. In contrast to its effect on pursuit of pleasurable activities, pramipexole did not increase motor impulsivity. In fact, in line with findings in PD and addiction, dopaminergic therapy might increase motor impulse control. In these patient groups, by enhancing function of the dorsal striatum (DS) of the basal ganglia in contrast to its effect on impulsive pursuit of pleasurable activities. These findings have implications for use and effects of pramipexole in PD as well as in other conditions (e.g., restless leg, dystonia, depression, addiction-related problems)

Performance evaluation of HEVC RCL applications mapped onto NoC-based embedded platforms

Today, several applications running into embedded systems have to fulfill soft or hard timing constraints. Video applications, like the modern High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), e.g., most often have soft real-time constraints. However, in specific scenarios, such as in robotic surgeries, the coupling of satellites and so on, harder timing constraints arise, becoming a huge challenge. Although the implementation of such applications in Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) being an alternative to reduce their algorithmic complexity and meet real-time constraints, a performance evaluation of the mapped NoC and the schedulability analysis for a given application are mandatory. In this work we make a performance evaluation of HEVC Residual Coding Loop (RCL) mapped onto a NoC-based embedded platform, considering the encoding of a single 1920x1080 pixels frame. A set of analysis exploring the combination of different NoC sizes and task mapping strategies were performed, showing for the typical and upper-bound workload cases scenarios when the application is schedulable and meets the real-time constraints

Editorial

This issue's editors discuss the debate which has emerged between two of the journal's contributors and the President of the Victorian Mental Health Tribunal, and take us through the articles which follow the exchange of opinion

Pulmonary vascular resistance after cardiopulmonary bypass in infants: Effect on postoperative recovery

AbstractObjective: We sought to define the contemporary clinical effect of increased pulmonary vascular resistance in infants after congenital heart operations with cardiopulmonary bypass. Methods: Fifteen infants (median age, 0.31 years; median weight, 5.1 kg) underwent cardiac operations involving cardiopulmonary bypass (range, 49-147 minutes). Pulmonary vascular resistance was measured in the immediate postoperative period in the intensive care unit by means of the direct Fick principle, with respiratory mass spectrometry to measure oxygen consumption. The effect of ventilation with an inspired oxygen fraction of 0.65, with additional infusion of L -arginine, substance P, and inhaled nitric oxide, was assessed and subsequently correlated with the length of mechanical ventilation from the end of cardiopulmonary bypass to successful extubation. Results: Overall, pulmonary vascular resistance at baseline (11.7 ± 5.6 WU · m2) could be reduced to a minimum of 6.1 ± 3.5 WU · m2. The ventilatory time was 0.86 to 14.9 days (median, 1.75 days) and correlated directly with the lowest pulmonary vascular resistance value achieved during the pulmonary vascular resistance study (r 2 = 0.64, P <.01). The patient subgroup with mechanical ventilation of greater than 2 days had significantly higher pulmonary vascular resistance at all stages of the study protocol, and in this group there was a correlation of cardiopulmonary bypass time and ventilatory support time (r 2 = 0.48, P <.05). Conclusion: Increased pulmonary vascular resistance, either directly or as a surrogate of the systemic inflammatory response after cardiopulmonary bypass, continues to have a significant effect on postoperative recovery of infants after cardiac operations. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;121:1033-9