Cosmic microwave background constraints on coupled dark matter

We study CMB constraints on a model with a cosmological constant and a fraction of dark matter non-minimally coupled to a massless scalar field. In this scenario, there is an extra gravity-like fifth force which can affect the evolution of the Universe enough to have a discernible effect on measurements of cosmological parameters. Using Planck and WMAP polarisation data, we find that up to half of the dark matter can be coupled. The coupling can also be several times larger than in models with a single species of cold dark matter coupled to a quintessence scalar field, as the scalar field does not play the role of dark energy and is therefore less constrained by the data.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Inquiry-Based Astronomy Curriculum for the Online Setting that is Culturally Sustaining and Equity-Centered

The guiding question for my capstone project was: how can inquiry-based astronomy curriculum that is culturally sustaining and differentiated be effectively adapted to the online setting with student equity as a prime consideration? The curriculum designed for this project focuses on integrating CAST’s Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework into online lessons. Lessons also increase engagement by incorporating inquiry and culturally sustaining content. The curriculum is intended to be used in the online setting as a high school astronomy elective, but lessons could also be used in regular classrooms or environmental learning centers. A key takeaway of the project is that astronomy naturally lends itself to culturally sustaining instruction, but this opportunity is frequently overlooked. Throughout history, almost all cultures have studied the night sky, attaching their own stories and significance to the movement of the heavens. Studying the contributions to astronomy of different people groups helps students realize that astronomy is truly one of the oldest sciences with collaborators all over the world. Another important finding is that online instruction must balance differentiation with clear instruction. Offering too many options can actually be counterproductive and create confusion on exactly what is required. It is the responsibility of the educator to assess the needs of their learners and design activities that allow for student choice while still enabling all learners to meet tangible learning objectives

John Browne's 'Treatise of the Muscles' (1681) and the Image of Mobility in late seventeenth-century London

In late seventeenth-century London, anatomists, artists, actors and print collectors studied images of the moving, muscular body. John Browne’s Treatise of the Muscles (1681) includes anatomical plates that display the intersection between different types of bodily knowledge within this period. Browne’s images can be read as part of a genealogy of traditional anatomical visual production and yet they include contemporary postures, gestures and fashionable accoutrements such as canes and wigs. As such they can be understood alongside alternative, supplementary imagery, including conduct manuals, fashion plates, artist’s drawing books and architectural plans. Exploring these less familiar precedents and isolating new trajectories for the anatomical image serves to temper scholarly narratives that focus upon the ‘bloody spectacle’ of the dissection theatre. Instead, the focus upon this anatomical treatise, presents us with a set of images through which to investigate the social body of the seventeenth-century user of such texts. The way that Browne’s plates convey knowledge of the muscular structure indicates that the potential use value of these images is in excess of the practical field of medical study. Browne’s figures embody seventeenth- century notions of Restoration sovereignty, courtesy and civility, characterised in a dialogue between macrocosmic social order and micro- muscular mechanical control. In the chapters of this dissertation Browne’s bodies are considered alongside three different contexts of cultural production: the discernibly fashionable body, the artifice and illusion of the playhouse and the muscular system imagined as sculptural form. This thesis, in the broadest terms, is an examination of the repaired, post-Restoration, public muscular body that required study and care to remain elegant and civil. Following the trail of the animated anatomical body through a broad array of visual material demonstrates the complexity – and pleasure – of viewing muscular representation at a specific historical moment in London

Mitigating dilemmas in postgraduate researcher mental health and well-being project implementation: critical reflections from three former implementers.

Purpose: This paper aims to present the critical reflections of three women implementers formerly working in projects that seek to support the mental health and well-being (MHW) of postgraduate researchers (PGRs), which has become a recent focus for UK researchers and policymakers. The paper offers an experience-based perspective on tensions in PGR-MHW project implementation by providing personal accounts of several social dilemmas the authors encountered. From reflecting on experiences, the authors derived recommendations for mitigating such dilemmas when designing and delivering future projects. Design/methodology/approach: First, the experiences of dilemmas as female project implementers of PGR-MHW projects were recalled, listed and discussed and identified broad overarching themes. Second, one dilemma for each of the three themes was fleshed out according to the ones that carried meaning for how the role was personally experienced. Third, what the accounts of dilemmas meant for project implementation and outcomes was analyzed. Then the findings to existing literature where similar tensions were identified were linked, including how these could be mitigated. Findings: The dilemmas experienced as implementers in PGR-MHW projects fit among three interconnected themes: identity, values, and motivations and relationships. It was showed that, although they may be hard to see, the dilemmas presented in this paper impede project’s success, outcomes for PGRs and implementers’ well-being. Mitigating such dilemmas when designing, funding, implementing and evaluating future projects is not straightforward, and the findings in this article open avenues to tackle this problem. Originality/value: Focusing on reflections of female implementers, the paper provides an original perspective on PGR-MHW project evaluation. Using reflective writing as a research tool allowed us to identify overlooked dilemmas in project implementation. Honest and critical accounts of implementers’ experiences revealed important lessons such as different framings of project success, the intersection between the personal and the professional and individual responsibilities in project networks

Testing a load theory framework for food-related cognition

The way we process rewarding stimuli is widely held to play a key role in normal and abnormal behavior. Biased processing of food—arguably the most primal form of reward—has been strongly implicated in the obesity crisis. Paradoxically, however, existing evidence suggests that both too much and too little attention can potentially lead to overeating. Here we sought to explain this contradiction within the framework of the load theory of attention, while also elucidating the relatively understudied role of memory biases. In 3 experiments, we presented food and nonfood images as irrelevant distractors during a letter search task with high and low levels of perceptual load, followed by a forced choice recognition task. As predicted, increasing perceptual load consistently powerfully reduced distraction by food and nonfood images alike. Similarly, food images encountered under high perceptual load were less likely to be recognized in a surprise memory test. Unexpectedly, however, there was a striking absence of attentional bias to food above and beyond salient nonfood stimuli, either within-subjects or in relation to traits implicated in food-biases. By contrast, a food memory bias was consistently observed across participants, and appeared independent of attentional biases. Food memory was consistently heightened in individuals with high levels of trait disinhibition (a measure of opportunistic eating). Our findings suggest that attention and memory for food and nonfood are similarly impacted by perceptual load. We discuss implications of the load theory framework for the wider literature on food-related cognition and for real world eating behaviors

Caffeine release and absorption from caffeinated gums

The objectives of this study were to estimate the impact of chewing time on caffeine release from gum and to understand caffeine pharmacokinetics. Caffeine release increased with chewing time (2 min < 5 min < 10 min). Furthermore, two plasma caffeine concentration peaks were observed suggesting that caffeine absorption occurs both through the oral mucosa and gastrointestinal tract. This is of practical relevance to maximise caffeine doses and to synchronise effort with peak caffeine concentration

Immortal-time bias in older vs younger age groups: a simulation study with application to a population-based cohort of patients with colon cancer

BACKGROUND: In observational studies, the risk of immortal-time bias (ITB) increases with the likelihood of early death, itself increasing with age. We investigated how age impacts the magnitude of ITB when estimating the effect of surgery on 1-year overall survival (OS) in patients with Stage IV colon cancer aged 50–74 and 75–84 in England. METHODS: Using simulations, we compared estimates from a time-fixed exposure model to three statistical methods addressing ITB: time-varying exposure, delayed entry and landmark methods. We then estimated the effect of surgery on OS using a population-based cohort of patients from the CORECT-R resource and conducted the analysis using the emulated target trial framework. RESULTS: In simulations, the magnitude of ITB was larger among older patients when their probability of early death increased or treatment was delayed. The bias was corrected using the methods addressing ITB. When applied to CORECT-R data, these methods yielded a smaller effect of surgery than the time-fixed exposure approach but effects were similar in both age groups. CONCLUSION: ITB must be addressed in all longitudinal studies, particularly, when investigating the effect of exposure on an outcome in different groups of people (e.g., age groups) with different distributions of exposure and outcomes