In the Shadow of the Transiting Disk: Imaging epsilon Aurigae in Eclipse

Eclipses of the single-line spectroscopic binary star, epsilon Aurigae, provide an opportunity to study the poorly-defined companion. We used the MIRC beam combiner on the CHARA array to create interferometric images during eclipse ingress. Our results demonstrate that the eclipsing body is a dark disk that is opaque and tilted, and therefore exclude alternative models for the system. These data constrain the geometry and masses of the components, providing evidence that the F-star is not a massive supergiant star.Comment: As submitted to Nature. Published in Nature April 8, 2010

The effects of equine-assisted activities on the social functioning in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Equine-assisted activities and therapies are increasing in popularity for treatment of ASD symptoms. This research evaluated effects of a 5-week programme of therapeutic riding on social functioning of children/adolescents (N = 15) with ASD. The effectiveness of the programme was evaluated using the autism spectrum quotient, the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale and the empathising and systemising quotient. Results established that the TR intervention increased empathising and reduced maladaptive behaviours. The findings also indicated that specific adaptive behaviours like socialization and communication were not affected by the intervention. Thus, a complex picture of the effects of this intervention emerges: while TR does not change all of the child’s behaviour, it can improve specific aspects of social functioning and also reduce maladaptive ASD traits

Attachment styles and personal growth following romantic breakups: The mediating roles of distress, rumination, and tendency to rebound

© 2013 Marshall et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.The purpose of this research was to examine the associations of attachment anxiety and avoidance with personal growth following relationship dissolution, and to test breakup distress, rumination, and tendency to rebound with new partners as mediators of these associations. Study 1 (N = 411) and Study 2 (N = 465) measured attachment style, breakup distress, and personal growth; Study 2 additionally measured ruminative reflection, brooding, and proclivity to rebound with new partners. Structural equation modelling revealed in both studies that anxiety was indirectly associated with greater personal growth through heightened breakup distress, whereas avoidance was indirectly associated with lower personal growth through inhibited breakup distress. Study 2 further showed that the positive association of breakup distress with personal growth was accounted for by enhanced reflection and brooding, and that anxious individuals’ greater personal growth was also explained by their proclivity to rebound. These findings suggest that anxious individuals’ hyperactivated breakup distress may act as a catalyst for personal growth by promoting the cognitive processing of breakup-related thoughts and emotions, whereas avoidant individuals’ deactivated distress may inhibit personal growth by suppressing this cognitive work

The impact of point mutations in the human androgen receptor : classification of mutations on the basis of transcriptional activity

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Proactive and politically skilled professionals: What is the relationship with affective occupational commitment?

The aim of this study is to extend research on employee affective commitment in three ways: (1) instead of organizational commitment the focus is on occupational commitment; (2) the role of proactive personality on affective occupational commitment is examined; and (3) occupational satisfaction is examined as a mediator and political skills as moderator in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Two connected studies, one in a hospital located in the private sector and one in a university located in the public sector, are carried out in Pakistan, drawing on a total sample of over 400 employees. The results show that proactive personality is positively related to affective occupational commitment, and that occupational satisfaction partly mediates the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. No effect is found for a moderator effect of political skills in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Political skills however moderate the relationship between proactive personality and affective organizational commitment

Mediators of the Link Between Autistic Traits and Relationship Satisfaction in a Non-Clinical Sample

People with ASD have deficits in their social skills and may therefore experience lower relationship satisfaction. This study investigated possible mechanisms to explain whether and how autistic traits, measured with the AQ, influence relationship satisfaction in a non-clinical sample of 195 married couples. More autistic traits were associated with lower relationship satisfaction for husbands but not for wives. Multiple mediation analyses revealed that husbands’ responsiveness towards their wives, trust, and intimacy mediated this link between autistic traits and relationship satisfaction. These findings suggest that autistic traits may hamper men’s relationship satisfaction because they impede relationship-specific feelings and behavior. There was no partner-effect of autistic traits, indicating that more autistic traits do not necessarily influence the partner’s perceptions of relationship satisfaction

The small molecule specific EphB4 kinase inhibitor NVP-BHG712 inhibits VEGF driven angiogenesis

EphB4 and its cognitive ligand ephrinB2 play an important role in embryonic vessel development and vascular remodeling. In addition, several reports suggest that this receptor ligand pair is also involved in pathologic vessel formation in adults including tumor angiogenesis. Eph/ephrin signaling is a complex phenomena characterized by receptor forward signaling through the tyrosine kinase of the receptor and ephrin reverse signaling through various protein–protein interaction domains and phosphorylation motifs of the ephrin ligands. Therefore, interfering with EphR/ephrin signaling by the means of targeted gene ablation, soluble receptors, dominant negative mutants or antisense molecules often does not allow to discriminate between inhibition of Eph/ephrin forward and reverse signaling. We developed a specific small molecular weight kinase inhibitor of the EphB4 kinase, NVP-BHG712, which inhibits EphB4 kinase activity in the low nanomolar range in cellular assays showed high selectivity for targeting the EphB4 kinase when profiled against other kinases in biochemical as well as in cell based assays. Furthermore, NVP-BHG712 shows excellent pharmacokinetic properties and potently inhibits EphB4 autophosphorylation in tissues after oral administration. In vivo, NVP-BHG712 inhibits VEGF driven vessel formation, while it has only little effects on VEGF receptor (VEGFR) activity in vitro or in cellular assays. The data shown here suggest a close cross talk between the VEGFR and EphR signaling during vessel formation. In addition to its established function in vascular remodeling and endothelial arterio-venous differentiation, EphB4 forward signaling appears to be an important mediator of VEGF induced angiogenesis since inhibition of EphB4 forward signaling is sufficient to inhibit VEGF induced angiogenesis

Sex bias in autism spectrum disorder in neurofibromatosis type 1

BACKGROUND: Despite extensive literature, little is known about the mechanisms underlying sex bias in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study investigates the sex differences in ASD associated with neurofibromatosis type 1, a single-gene model of syndromic autism. METHODS: We analysed data from n = 194 children aged 4–16 years with neurofibromatosis type 1. Sex differences were evaluated across the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), verbal IQ, Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Conners questionnaires. RESULTS: There was 2.68:1 male:female ratio in children meeting ASD criteria on the deep phenotyping measures. On symptom profile, males with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) + ASD were more impaired on reciprocal social interaction and communication domains of the ADI-R but we found no differences on the restricted, repetitive behaviours (RRBs) domain of the ADI-R and no differences on the social on the ADOS. NF1 ASD males and females were comparable on verbal IQ, and the inattention/hyperactivity domains of the Conners questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant male bias in the prevalence of ASD in NF1. The phenotypic profile of NF1 + ASD cases includes greater social communication impairment in males. We discuss the implications of our findings and the rationale for using NF1 as a model for investigating sex bias in idiopathic ASD