On hypergeometric series reductions from integral representations, the Kampe de Feriet function, and elsewhere

Single variable hypergeometric functions pFq arise in connection with the power series solution of the Schrodinger equation or in the summation of perturbation expansions in quantum mechanics. For these applications, it is of interest to obtain analytic expressions, and we present the reduction of a number of cases of pFp and p+1F_p, mainly for p=2 and p=3. These and related series have additional applications in quantum and statistical physics and chemistry.Comment: 17 pages, no figure

Virtual Hand Illusion Induced by Visuomotor Correlations

Our body schema gives the subjective impression of being highly stable. However, a number of easily-evoked illusions illustrate its remarkable malleability. In the rubber-hand illusion, illusory ownership of a rubber-hand is evoked by synchronous visual and tactile stimulation on a visible rubber arm and on the hidden real arm. Ownership is concurrent with a proprioceptive illusion of displacement of the arm position towards the fake arm. We have previously shown that this illusion of ownership plus the proprioceptive displacement also occurs towards a virtual 3D projection of an arm when the appropriate synchronous visuotactile stimulation is provided. Our objective here was to explore whether these illusions (ownership and proprioceptive displacement) can be induced by only synchronous visuomotor stimulation, in the absence of tactile stimulation

Hyperpolarized 13C-pyruvate MRI detects real-time metabolic flux in prostate cancer metastases to bone and liver: a clinical feasibility study.

BackgroundHyperpolarized (HP) 13C-pyruvate MRI is a stable-isotope molecular imaging modality that provides real-time assessment of the rate of metabolism through glycolytic pathways in human prostate cancer. Heretofore this imaging modality has been successfully utilized in prostate cancer only in localized disease. This pilot clinical study investigated the feasibility and imaging performance of HP 13C-pyruvate MR metabolic imaging in prostate cancer patients with metastases to the bone and/or viscera.MethodsSix patients who had metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer were recruited. Carbon-13 MR examination were conducted on a clinical 3T MRI following injection of 250 mM hyperpolarized 13C-pyruvate, where pyruvate-to-lactate conversion rate (kPL) was calculated. Paired metastatic tumor biopsy was performed with histopathological and RNA-seq analyses.ResultsWe observed a high rate of glycolytic metabolism in prostate cancer metastases, with a mean kPL value of 0.020 ± 0.006 (s-1) and 0.026 ± 0.000 (s-1) in bone (N = 4) and liver (N = 2) metastases, respectively. Overall, high kPL showed concordance with biopsy-confirmed high-grade prostate cancer including neuroendocrine differentiation in one case. Interval decrease of kPL from 0.026 at baseline to 0.015 (s-1) was observed in a liver metastasis 2 months after the initiation of taxane plus platinum chemotherapy. RNA-seq found higher levels of the lactate dehydrogenase isoform A (Ldha,15.7 ± 0.7) expression relative to the dominant isoform of pyruvate dehydrogenase (Pdha1, 12.8 ± 0.9).ConclusionsHP 13C-pyruvate MRI can detect real-time glycolytic metabolism within prostate cancer metastases, and can measure changes in quantitative kPL values following treatment response at early time points. This first feasibility study supports future clinical studies of HP 13C-pyruvate MRI in the setting of advanced prostate cancer

Parents' responses to prognostic disclosure at diagnosis of a child with a high-risk brain tumor:Analysis of clinician-parent interactions and implications for clinical practice

BackgroundPrevious studies have found that parents of children with cancer desire more prognostic information than is often given even when prognosis is poor. We explored in audio‐recorded consultations the kinds of information they seek.MethodsEthnographic study including observation and audio recording of consultations at diagnosis. Consultations were transcribed and analyzed using an interactionist perspective including tools drawn from conversation and discourse analysis.ResultsEnrolled 21 parents and 12 clinicians in 13 cases of children diagnosed with a high‐risk brain tumor (HRBT) over 20 months at a tertiary pediatric oncology center. Clinicians presented prognostic information in all cases. Through their questions, parents revealed what further information they desired. Clinicians made clear that no one could be absolutely certain what the future held for an individual child. Explicit communication about prognosis did not satisfy parents’ desire for information about their own child. Parents tried to personalize prognostic information and to apply it to their own situation. Parents moved beyond prognostic information presented and drew conclusions, which could change over time. Parents who were present in the same consultations could form different views of their child's prognosis.ConclusionPopulation level prognostic information left parents uncertain about their child's future. The need parents revealed was not for more such information but rather how to use the information given and how to apply it to their child in the face of such uncertainty. Further research is needed on how best to help parents deal with uncertainty and make prognostic information actionable

The Development and Initial Validation of the Irrational Performance Beliefs Inventory (iPBI)

© 2016 Hogrefe Publishing. The growing use of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in performance contexts (e.g., business, sport) has highlighted the absence of a contextually valid and reliable measure of irrational beliefs. This paper reports the development and initial validation of the Irrational Performance Beliefs Inventory (iPBI). The iPBI was developed to provide a validated measure of the four core irrational beliefs of REBT theory. Item development was completed in three stages comprising two expert panels and one novice panel, reducing and refining 176 items to 133. Then, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to refine the measure and reduce the number of items. A total of 665 business professionals completed the 133-item scale, alongside an established measure of irrational beliefs and a measure of negative emotion. A 28-item measure was developed (the iPBI) that showed an acceptable fit to the four-factor REBT structure. The iPBI correlated well with the established irrational beliefs measure, and with anxiety, depression, and anger, demonstrating concurrent and predictive validity. Further validation efforts are required to assess the validity and reliability of the iPBI in alternative samples in other performance-related contexts

Weighing the Giants - I. Weak-lensing masses for 51 massive galaxy clusters: project overview, data analysis methods and cluster images

This is the first in a series of papers in which we measure accurate weak-lensing masses for 51 of the most X-ray luminous galaxy clusters known at redshifts 0.15<z<0.7, in order to calibrate X-ray and other mass proxies for cosmological cluster experiments. The primary aim is to improve the absolute mass calibration of cluster observables, currently the dominant systematic uncertainty for cluster count experiments. Key elements of this work are the rigorous quantification of systematic uncertainties, high-quality data reduction and photometric calibration, and the "blind" nature of the analysis to avoid confirmation bias. Our target clusters are drawn from RASS X-ray catalogs, and provide a versatile calibration sample for many aspects of cluster cosmology. We have acquired wide-field, high-quality imaging using the Subaru and CFHT telescopes for all 51 clusters, in at least three bands per cluster. For a subset of 27 clusters, we have data in at least five bands, allowing accurate photo-z estimates of lensed galaxies. In this paper, we describe the cluster sample and observations, and detail the processing of the SuprimeCam data to yield high-quality images suitable for robust weak-lensing shape measurements and precision photometry. For each cluster, we present wide-field color optical images and maps of the weak-lensing mass distribution, the optical light distribution, and the X-ray emission, providing insights into the large-scale structure in which the clusters are embedded. We measure the offsets between X-ray centroids and Brightest Cluster Galaxies in the clusters, finding these to be small in general, with a median of 20kpc. For offsets <100kpc, weak-lensing mass measurements centered on the BCGs agree well with values determined relative to the X-ray centroids; miscentering is therefore not a significant source of systematic uncertainty for our mass measurements. [abridged]Comment: 26 pages, 19 figures (Appendix C not included). Accepted after minor revisio

Being Barbie: The Size of One’s Own Body Determines the Perceived Size of the World

A classical question in philosophy and psychology is if the sense of one's body influences how one visually perceives the world. Several theoreticians have suggested that our own body serves as a fundamental reference in visual perception of sizes and distances, although compelling experimental evidence for this hypothesis is lacking. In contrast, modern textbooks typically explain the perception of object size and distance by the combination of information from different visual cues. Here, we describe full body illusions in which subjects experience the ownership of a doll's body (80 cm or 30 cm) and a giant's body (400 cm) and use these as tools to demonstrate that the size of one's sensed own body directly influences the perception of object size and distance. These effects were quantified in ten separate experiments with complementary verbal, questionnaire, manual, walking, and physiological measures. When participants experienced the tiny body as their own, they perceived objects to be larger and farther away, and when they experienced the large-body illusion, they perceived objects to be smaller and nearer. Importantly, despite identical retinal input, this “body size effect” was greater when the participants experienced a sense of ownership of the artificial bodies compared to a control condition in which ownership was disrupted. These findings are fundamentally important as they suggest a causal relationship between the representations of body space and external space. Thus, our own body size affects how we perceive the world

Problematic Instagram use: the role of perceived feeling of presence and escapism

The use of social networking sites is becoming increasingly popular. Although there are many studies investigating the problematic use of social networking sites such as Facebook, little is known about problematic Instagram use (PIU) and factors related to it. The present study developed a complex model in order to examine the mediating role of perceived feeling of presence (i.e., social, spatial, and co-presence) and escapism between using different Instagram features and PIU. A total of 333 Instagram users from a high school and a state university, aged between 14 and 23 years (Mage = 17.74 years, SD = 2.37, 61% female), completed a "paper-and-pencil" questionnaire comprising measures of social presence, spatial presence, co-presence, Instagram escapism, and PIU. In addition, frequency of use of five different Instagram features (i.e., watching live streams; watching videos; looking at posted photographs; liking, commenting on others' posts; and getting likes and comments from others) were assessed using a 7-point Likert scale. Analysis indicated that watching live streams was indirectly associated with PIU via escapism, spatial presence, and co-presence. Leaving likes and comments on others' posts was both directly and indirectly associated with PIU via co-presence and escapism. Escapism mediated the relationships between social and spatial presence and co-presence and PIU. The findings of the present study appear to indicate that a minority of individuals use Instagram problematically and that problematic Instagram use is associated with the frequency of watching live streams, liking, and commenting on others’ posts on Instagram, being able to feel a higher sense of presence using Instagram, and using Instagram as an escape from reality

The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation