Young children do not integrate visual and haptic information

Several studies have shown that adults integrate visual and haptic information (and information from other modalities) in a statistically optimal fashion, weighting each sense according to its reliability. To date no studies have investigated when this capacity for cross-modal integration develops. Here we show that prior to eight years of age, integration of visual and haptic spatial information is far from optimal, with either vision or touch dominating totally, even in conditions where the dominant sense is far less precise than the other (assessed by discrimination thresholds). For size discrimination, haptic information dominates in determining both perceived size and discrimination thresholds, while for orientation discrimination vision dominates. By eight-ten years, the integration becomes statistically optimal, like adults. We suggest that during development, perceptual systems require constant recalibration, for which cross-sensory comparison is important. Using one sense to calibrate the other precludes useful combination of the two sources

Active colloidal particles in emulsion droplets: A model system for the cytoplasm

In living cells, molecular motors create activity that enhances the diffusion of particles throughout the cytoplasm, and not just ones attached to the motors. We demonstrate initial steps toward creating artificial cells that mimic this phenomenon. Our system consists of active, Pt-coated Janus particles and passive tracers confined to emulsion droplets. We track the motion of both the active particles and passive tracers in a hydrogen peroxide solution, which serves as the fuel to drive the motion. We first show that correcting for bulk translational and rotational motion of the droplets induced by bubble formation is necessary to accurately track the particles. After drift correction, we find that the active particles show enhanced diffusion in the interior of the droplets and are not captured by the droplet interface. At the particle and hydrogen peroxide concentrations we use, we observe little coupling between the active and passive particles. We discuss the possible reasons for lack of coupling and describe ways to improve the system to more effectively mimic cytoplasmic activity

The difficulty with responding to policy changes for HIV and infant feeding in Malawi

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>When and how to wean breastfed infants exposed to HIV infection has provoked extensive debate, particularly in low-income countries where safe alternatives to breastfeeding are rarely available. Although there is global consensus on optimal infant-feeding practices in the form of guidelines, practices are sub-optimal in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Policy-makers and health workers face many challenges in adapting and implementing these guidelines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This paper is based on in-depth interviews with five policy-makers and 11 providers of interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, participant observations during clinic sessions and site visits.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The difficulties with adapting the global infant-feeding guidelines in Malawi have affected the provision of services. There was a lack of consensus on HIV and infant-feeding at all levels and general confusion about the 2006 guidelines, particularly those recommending continued breastfeeding after six months if replacement feeding is not acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe. Health workers found it particularly difficult to advise women to continue breastfeeding after six months. They worried that they would lose the trust of the PMTCT clients and the population at large, and they feared that continued breastfeeding was unsafe. Optimal support for HIV-infected women was noted in programmes where health workers were multi-skilled; coordinated their efforts and had functional, multidisciplinary task forces and engaged communities. The recent 2009 recommendations are the first to support antiretroviral (ARV) use by mothers or children during breastfeeding. Besides promoting maternal health and providing protection against HIV infection in children, the new Rapid Advice has the potential to resolve the difficulties and confusion experienced by health workers in Malawi.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The process of integrating new evidence into institutionalised actions takes time. The challenge of keeping programmes, and especially health workers, up-to-standard is a dynamic process. Effective programmes require more than basic resources. Along with up-to-date information, health workers need contextualized, easy-to-follow guidelines in order to effectively provide services. They also require supportive supervision during the processes of change. Policy-makers should ensure that consensus is carefully considered and that comprehensive perspectives are incorporated when adapting the global guidelines.</p

Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature Version 4 (ERSST.v4): Part II. Parametric and Structural Uncertainty Estimations

Described herein is the parametric and structural uncertainty quantification for the monthly Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST) version 4 (v4). A Monte Carlo ensemble approach was adopted to characterize parametric uncertainty, because initial experiments indicate the existence of significant nonlinear interactions. Globally, the resulting ensemble exhibits a wider uncertainty range before 1900, as well as an uncertainty maximum around World War II. Changes at smaller spatial scales in many regions, or for important features such as Niño-3.4 variability, are found to be dominated by particular parameter choices. Substantial differences in parametric uncertainty estimates are found between ERSST.v4 and the independently derived Hadley Centre SST version 3 (HadSST3) product. The largest uncertainties are over the mid and high latitudes in ERSST.v4 but in the tropics in HadSST3. Overall, in comparison with HadSST3, ERSST.v4 has larger parametric uncertainties at smaller spatial and shorter time scales and smaller parametric uncertainties at longer time scales, which likely reflects the different sources of uncertainty quantified in the respective parametric analyses. ERSST.v4 exhibits a stronger globally averaged warming trend than HadSST3 during the period of 1910–2012, but with a smaller parametric uncertainty. These global-mean trend estimates and their uncertainties marginally overlap. Several additional SST datasets are used to infer the structural uncertainty inherent in SST estimates. For the global mean, the structural uncertainty, estimated as the spread between available SST products, is more often than not larger than the parametric uncertainty in ERSST.v4. Neither parametric nor structural uncertainties call into question that on the global-mean level and centennial time scale, SSTs have warmed notably

ESR, raman and conductivity studies on fractionated poly(2-methoxyaniline-5-sulfonic acid)

Synthesis methods used to produce poly(2-methoxyaniline-5-sulfonic acid) (PMAS), a water soluble, self-doped conducting polymer, have been shown to form two distinctly different polymer fractions with molecular weights of approximately 2 kDa and 8 -10 kDa. The low molecular weight (LMWT) PMAS fraction is redox inactive and non-conducting while the high molecular weight (HMWT) PMAS is electro-active with electrical conductivities of 0.94 0.05 S cm-1. Previous investigations have illustrated the different photochemical and electrochemical properties of these fractions, but have not correlated these properties with the structural and electronic interactions that drive them. Incomplete purification of the PMAS mixture, typically via bag dialysis, has been shown to result in a mixture of approximately 50:50 HMWT:LMWT PMAS with electrical conductivity significantly lower at approximately 0.10 to 0.26 S cm-1. The difference between the electrical conductivities of these fractions has been investigated by the controlled addition of the non-conducting LMWT PMAS fraction into the HMWT PMAS composite film with the subsequent electronic properties investigated by solid-state ESR and Raman spectroscopies. These studies illustrate strong electronic intereactions of the insulating LMWT PMAS with the emeraldine salt HMWT PMAS to substantially alter the population of the electronic charge carriers in the conducting polymer. ESR studies on these mixtures, when compared to HMWT PMAS, exhibited a lower level of electron spin in the presence of LMWT PMAS indicative of the the formation of low spin bipolarons without a change the oxidation state of the conducting HMWT fraction

Rapid motion adaptation reveals the temporal dynamics of spatiotemporal correlation between ON and OFF pathways

At the early stages of visual processing, information is processed by two major thalamic pathways encoding brightness increments (ON) and decrements (OFF). Accumulating evidence suggests that these pathways interact and merge as early as in primary visual cortex. Using regular and reverse-phi motion in a rapid adaptation paradigm, we investigated the temporal dynamics of within and across pathway mechanisms for motion processing. When the adaptation duration was short (188 ms), reverse-phi and regular motion led to similar adaptation effects, suggesting that the information from the two pathways are combined efficiently at early-stages of motion processing. However, as the adaption duration was increased to 752 ms, reverse-phi and regular motion showed distinct adaptation effects depending on the test pattern used, either engaging spatiotemporal correlation between the same or opposite contrast polarities. Overall, these findings indicate that spatiotemporal correlation within and across ON-OFF pathways for motion processing can be selectively adapted, and support those models that integrate within and across pathway mechanisms for motion processing

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Increased Sensitivity to Mirror Symmetry in Autism

Can autistic people see the forest for the trees? Ongoing uncertainty about the integrity and role of global processing in autism gives special importance to the question of how autistic individuals group local stimulus attributes into meaningful spatial patterns. We investigated visual grouping in autism by measuring sensitivity to mirror symmetry, a highly-salient perceptual image attribute preceding object recognition. Autistic and non-autistic individuals were asked to detect mirror symmetry oriented along vertical, oblique, and horizontal axes. Both groups performed best when the axis was vertical, but across all randomly-presented axis orientations, autistics were significantly more sensitive to symmetry than non-autistics. We suggest that under some circumstances, autistic individuals can take advantage of parallel access to local and global information. In other words, autistics may sometimes see the forest and the trees, and may therefore extract from noisy environments genuine regularities which elude non-autistic observers

High rates of burnout among maternal health staff at a referral hospital in Malawi: A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Burnout among maternal healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa may have a negative effect on services provided and efforts to mitigate high maternal mortality rates. In Malawi, research on burnout is limited and no empirical research has been conducted specifically among maternal health staff. Therefore, the aims of the study were to examine the prevalence and degree of burnout reported by healthcare workers who provide antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal services in a district referral hospital in Malawi; and, to explore factors that may influence the level of burnout healthcare workers experience.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the current cross-sectional study, levels of burnout among staff working in obstetrics and gynaecology at a referral hospital in Malawi were examined, in addition to individual and job characteristics that may be associated with burnout.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In terms of the three dimensions of burnout, of the 101 participants, nearly three quarters (72%) reported emotional exhaustion, over one third (43%) reported depersonalization while almost three quarters (74%) experienced reduced personal accomplishment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Based on these findings, burnout appears to be common among participating maternal health staff and they experienced more burnout than their colleagues working in other medical settings and countries. Further research is needed to identify factors specific to Malawi that contribute to burnout in order to inform the development of prevention and treatment within the maternal health setting.</p