20 research outputs found
A cognitive behavioural coaching intervention for the treatment of perfectionism and self-handicapping in a nonclinical population
Kepler-22b: A 2.4 Earth-radius Planet in the Habitable Zone of a Sun-like Star
A search of the time-series photometry from NASA's Kepler spacecraft reveals
a transiting planet candidate orbiting the 11th magnitude G5 dwarf KIC 10593626
with a period of 290 days. The characteristics of the host star are well
constrained by high-resolution spectroscopy combined with an asteroseismic
analysis of the Kepler photometry, leading to an estimated mass and radius of
0.970 +/- 0.060 MSun and 0.979 +/- 0.020 RSun. The depth of 492 +/- 10ppm for
the three observed transits yields a radius of 2.38 +/- 0.13 REarth for the
planet. The system passes a battery of tests for false positives, including
reconnaissance spectroscopy, high-resolution imaging, and centroid motion. A
full BLENDER analysis provides further validation of the planet interpretation
by showing that contamination of the target by an eclipsing system would rarely
mimic the observed shape of the transits. The final validation of the planet is
provided by 16 radial velocities obtained with HIRES on Keck 1 over a one year
span. Although the velocities do not lead to a reliable orbit and mass
determination, they are able to constrain the mass to a 3{\sigma} upper limit
of 124 MEarth, safely in the regime of planetary masses, thus earning the
designation Kepler-22b. The radiative equilibrium temperature is 262K for a
planet in Kepler-22b's orbit. Although there is no evidence that Kepler-22b is
a rocky planet, it is the first confirmed planet with a measured radius to
orbit in the Habitable Zone of any star other than the Sun.Comment: Accepted to Ap
Integrating sequence and array data to create an improved 1000 Genomes Project haplotype reference panel
A major use of the 1000 Genomes Project (1000GP) data is genotype imputation in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Here we develop a method to estimate haplotypes from low-coverage sequencing data that can take advantage of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray genotypes on the same samples. First the SNP array data are phased to build a backbone (or 'scaffold') of haplotypes across each chromosome. We then phase the sequence data 'onto' this haplotype scaffold. This approach can take advantage of relatedness between sequenced and non-sequenced samples to improve accuracy. We use this method to create a new 1000GP haplotype reference set for use by the human genetic community. Using a set of validation genotypes at SNP and bi-allelic indels we show that these haplotypes have lower genotype discordance and improved imputation performance into downstream GWAS samples, especially at low-frequency variants. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved
Towards a mechanistic understanding of atmospheric-induced stress corrosion cracking (AISCC) in austenitic stainless steels
Amospheric-induced stress corrosion cracking in austenitic stainless steels for nuclear waste containers
Perfectionistic concerns, interpersonal discrepancies, and psychological well-being: A longitudinal mixed-method approach
Interactions between Steller's jays and yellow pine chipmunks over scatter-hoarded sugar pine seeds
The evolution of hippocampus volume and brain size in relation to food hoarding in birds
Food-hoarding birds frequently use spatial memory to relocate their caches, thus they may evolve a larger hippocampus in their brain than non-hoarder species. However, previous studies testing for such interspecific relationships provided conflicting results. In addition, food hoarding may be a cognitively complex task involving elaboration of a variety of brain regions, even outside of the hippocampus. Hence, specialization to food hoarding may also result in the enlargement of the overall brain. In a phylogenetic analysis of distantly related birds, we studied the interspecific association between food hoarding and the size of different brain regions, each reflecting different resolutions. After adjusting for allometric effects, the relative volume of the hippocampus and the relative size of the entire brain were each positively related to the degree of food-hoarding specialization, even after controlling for migration and brood parasitism. We also found some significant evidence for the relative volume of the telencephalon being associated with food hoarding, but this relationship was dependent on the approach we used. Hence, neural adaptation to food hoarding may favour the evolution of different brain structures