The relationship between extent of aftereffect and speed of a rotated spiral

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThe purpose of the present study was twofold. First, a new technique for assessing the extent of the spiral aftereffect was utilized; and second, one parameter of the spiral, speed of rotation, was systematically examined. The recent literature on the spiral has consisted of establishing the diagnostic ability of the instrument for organic subjects. Examination of the parameters of the instrument itself has been limited by the lack of an adequate technique for assessing the extent of the aftereffect. None of the extant theories were capable of predicting either the direction, of expansion or contraction, or the function of speed on the aftereffect. A post hoc explanation was offered to explain the effect of speed on spiral aftermovement by an extension of the statistical summation theory. The following prediction was based on pilot data with the intent to determine if speed was a stable general function of the after effect: As spiral rotation speed increases from zero to fusion, the aftereffect will first increase and then decrease. [TRUNCATED

Digital tools, Strategic Alliances, and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge

This white paper provides a means for indigenous peoples to communicate current information and impacts among constituents and tribal groups. These concepts are very important in understanding how these groups disseminate policy and resource utilization impacts such as energy policies related to traditional knowledge associated to generic resources. In todays society the development of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) is imminent yet, large segments of the world remain marginalized. Our contention is that peer-to-peer and inter-institutional networks can be used to connect local with global systems to close this divide. Using today virtual and digital technologies the gap can be bridged using collaboration platforms using different knowledge systems that do not simply replicate the same information. The suggested model represents forming strategic alliances for information sharing and collaboration to empower and support local systems. The examples discussed show our efforts toward an inclusive approach with communities in full partnership, resulting in: 1) providing technical language necessary to negotiate with alliance partners, 2) creating new collaborative ways to incorporate cultural knowledge that can be shared locally and globally based on different metaphysical foundations, and 3) create ways by which communities can protect their traditional knowledge.\u2

Maternal Correlates of Growth in Toddler Vocabulary Production in Low-Income Families

This study investigated predictors of growth in toddlers’ vocabulary production between the ages of 1 and 3 years by analyzing mother – child communication in 108 low-income families. Individual growth modeling was used to describe patterns of growth in children’s observed vocabulary production and predictors of initial status and between-person change. Results indicate large variation in growth across children. Observed variation was positively related to diversity of maternal lexical input and maternal language and literacy skills, and negatively related to maternal depression. Maternal talkativeness was not related to growth in children’s vocabulary production in this sample. Implications of the examination of longitudinal data from this relatively large sample of low-income families are discussed

Effective Altruism

In this entry, we discuss both the definition of effective altruism and objections to effective altruism, so defined

Transcriptome-Wide Survey of Mouse CNS-Derived Cells Reveals Monoallelic Expression within Novel Gene Families

Monoallelic expression is an integral component of regulation of a number of essential genes and gene families. To probe for allele-specific expression in cells of CNS origin, we used next-generation sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze four clonal neural stem cell (NSC) lines derived from Mus musculus C57BL/6 (B6)×Mus musculus molossinus (JF1) adult female mice. We established a JF1 cSNP library, then ascertained transcriptome-wide expression from B6 vs. JF1 alleles in the NSC lines. Validating the assay, we found that 262 of 268 X-linked genes evaluable in at least one cell line showed monoallelic expression (at least 85% expression of the predominant allele, p-value<0.05). For autosomal genes 170 of 7,198 genes (2.4% of the total) showed monoallelic expression in at least 2 evaluable cell lines. The group included eight known imprinted genes with the expected pattern of allele-specific expression. Among the other autosomal genes with monoallelic expression were five members of the glutathione transferase gene superfamily, which processes xenobiotic compounds as well as carcinogens and cancer therapeutic agents. Monoallelic expression within this superfamily thus may play a functional role in the response to diverse and potentially lethal exogenous factors, as is the case for the immunoglobulin and olfactory receptor superfamilies. Other genes and gene families showing monoallelic expression include the annexin gene family and the Thy1 gene, both linked to inflammation and cancer, as well as genes linked to alcohol dependence (Gabrg1) and epilepsy (Kcnma1). The annotated set of genes will provide a resource for investigation of mechanisms underlying certain cases of these and other major disorders

Perceiving Pain in Others: Automatic and Controlled Mechanisms

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Heterogeneous Delays in Neural Networks

We investigate heterogeneous coupling delays in complex networks of excitable elements described by the FitzHugh-Nagumo model. The effects of discrete as well as of uni- and bimodal continuous distributions are studied with a focus on different topologies, i.e., regular, small-world, and random networks. In the case of two discrete delay times resonance effects play a major role: Depending on the ratio of the delay times, various characteristic spiking scenarios, such as coherent or asynchronous spiking, arise. For continuous delay distributions different dynamical patterns emerge depending on the width of the distribution. For small distribution widths, we find highly synchronized spiking, while for intermediate widths only spiking with low degree of synchrony persists, which is associated with traveling disruptions, partial amplitude death, or subnetwork synchronization, depending sensitively on the network topology. If the inhomogeneity of the coupling delays becomes too large, global amplitude death is induced