Bounding the mass of the graviton using gravitional-wave observations of inspiralling compact binaries

If gravitation is propagated by a massive field, then the velocity of gravitational waves (gravitons) will depend upon their frequency and the effective Newtonian potential will have a Yukawa form. In the case of inspiralling compact binaries, gravitational waves emitted at low frequency early in the inspiral will travel slightly slower than those emitted at high frequency later, modifying the phase evolution of the observed inspiral gravitational waveform, similar to that caused by post-Newtonian corrections to quadrupole phasing. Matched filtering of the waveforms can bound such frequency-dependent variations in propagation speed, and thereby bound the graviton mass. The bound depends on the mass of the source and on noise characteristics of the detector, but is independent of the distance to the source, except for weak cosmological redshift effects. For observations of stellar-mass compact inspiral using ground-based interferometers of the LIGO/VIRGO type, the bound on the graviton Compton wavelength is of the order of $6 \times 10^{12}$ km, about double that from solar-system tests of Yukawa modifications of Newtonian gravity. For observations of super-massive black hole binary inspiral at cosmological distances using the proposed laser interferometer space antenna (LISA), the bound can be as large as $6 \times 10^{16}$ km. This is three orders of magnitude weaker than model-dependent bounds from galactic cluster dynamics.Comment: 8 pages, RevTeX, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Gender-Sensitive Violence Risk Assessment:Predictive Validity of Six Tools in Female Forensic Psychiatric Patients

Most violence risk assessment tools have been validated predominantly in males. In this multicenter study, the Historical, Clinical, Risk Management-20 (HCR-20), Historical, Clinical, Risk Management-20 Version 3 (HCR-20(V3)), Female Additional Manual (FAM), Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START), Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for violence risk (SAPROF), and Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) were coded on file information of 78 female forensic psychiatric patients discharged between 1993 and 2012 with a mean follow-up period of 11.8 years from one of four Dutch forensic psychiatric hospitals. Notable was the high rate of mortality (17.9%) and readmission to psychiatric settings (11.5%) after discharge. Official reconviction data could be retrieved from the Ministry of Justice and Security for 71 women. Twenty-four women (33.8%) were reconvicted after discharge, including 13 for violent offenses (18.3%). Overall, predictive validity was moderate for all types of recidivism, but low for violence. The START Vulnerability scores, HCR-20(V3), and FAM showed the highest predictive accuracy for all recidivism. With respect to violent recidivism, only the START Vulnerability scores and the Clinical scale of the HCR-20(V3) demonstrated significant predictive accuracy

Mode of onset of torsade de pointes in congenital long QT syndrome

Objectives.We sought to describe the mode of onset of spontaneous torsade de pointes in the congenital long QT syndrome.Background.Contemporary classifications of the long QT syndrome (LQTS) refer to the congenital LQTS as “adrenergic dependent” and to the acquired LQTS as “pause dependent.” Overlap between these two categories has been recognized, and a subgroup of patients with “idiopathic pause-dependent torsade” has been described. However, it is not known how commonly torsade is preceded by pauses in the congenital LQTS.Methods.We reviewed the electrocardiograms (ECGs) of all our patients with congenital LQTS evaluated for syncope or sudden death (30 patients). Documentation of the onset of torsade de pointes was available for 15 patients. All these patients had “definitive LQTS” by accepted clinical and ECG criteria.Results.Pause-dependent torsade de pointes was clearly documented in 14 of the 15 patients (95% confidence interval 68% to 100%). The cycle length of the pause leading to torsade was 1.3 ± 0.2 times longer than the basic cycle length, and most pauses leading to torsade were unequivocally longer than the preceding basic cycle length (80% of pauses were >80 ms longer than the preceding cycle length).Conclusions.The “long-short” sequence, which has been recognized as a hallmark of torsade de pointes in the acquired LQTS, plays a major role in the genesis of torsade in the congenital LQTS as well. Our findings have important therapeutic implications regarding the use of pacemakers for prevention of torsade in the congenital LQTS

Interpersonal and affective dimensions of psychopathic traits in adolescents : development and validation of a self-report instrument

We report the development and psychometric evaluations of a self-report instrument designed to screen for psychopathic traits among mainstream community adolescents. Tests of item functioning were initially conducted with 26 adolescents. In a second study the new instrument was administered to 150 high school adolescents, 73 of who had school records of suspension for antisocial behavior. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 4-factor structure (Impulsivity α = .73, Self-Centredness α = .70, Callous-Unemotional α = .69, and Manipulativeness α = .83). In a third study involving 328 high school adolescents, 130 with records of suspension for antisocial behaviour, competing measurement models were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. The superiority of a first-order model represented by four correlated factors that was invariant across gender and age was confirmed. The findings provide researchers and clinicians with a psychometrically strong, self-report instrument and a greater understanding of psychopathic traits in mainstream adolescents

Universally Coupled Massive Gravity

We derive Einstein's equations from a linear theory in flat space-time using free-field gauge invariance and universal coupling. The gravitational potential can be either covariant or contravariant and of almost any density weight. We adapt these results to yield universally coupled massive variants of Einstein's equations, yielding two one-parameter families of distinct theories with spin 2 and spin 0. The Freund-Maheshwari-Schonberg theory is therefore not the unique universally coupled massive generalization of Einstein's theory, although it is privileged in some respects. The theories we derive are a subset of those found by Ogievetsky and Polubarinov by other means. The question of positive energy, which continues to be discussed, might be addressed numerically in spherical symmetry. We briefly comment on the issue of causality with two observable metrics and the need for gauge freedom and address some criticisms by Padmanabhan of field derivations of Einstein-like equations along the way.Comment: Introduction notes resemblance between Einstein's discovery process and later field/spin 2 project; matches journal versio

News from the Muon (g-2) Experiment at BNL

The magnetic moment anomaly a_mu = (g_mu - 2) / 2 of the positive muon has been measured at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron with an uncertainty of 0.7 ppm. The new result, based on data taken in 2000, agrees well with previous measurements. Standard Model evaluations currently differ from the experimental result by 1.6 to 3.0 standard deviations.Comment: Talk presented at RADCOR - Loops and Legs 2002, Kloster Banz, Germany, September 8-13 2002, to be published in Nuclear Physics B (Proc. Suppl.); 5 pages, 3 figure

'Everyday memory' impairments in autism spectrum disorders

‘Everyday memory’ is conceptualised as memory within the context of day-to-day life and, despite its functional relevance, has been little studied in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). In the first study of its kind, 94 adolescents with an ASD and 55 without an ASD completed measures of everyday memory from the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) and a standard word recall task (Children’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test-2: CAVLT-2). The ASD group showed significant impairments on the RBMT, including in prospective memory, alongside impaired performance on the CAVLT-2. Social and communication ability was significantly associated with prospective remembering in an everyday memory context but not with the CAVLT-2. The complex nature of everyday memory and its relevance to ASD is discussed

Health and Pleasure in Consumers' Dietary Food Choices: Individual Differences in the Brain's Value System

Taking into account how people value the healthiness and tastiness of food at both the behavioral and brain levels may help to better understand and address overweight and obesity-related issues. Here, we investigate whether brain activity in those areas involved in self-control may increase significantly when individuals with a high body-mass index (BMI) focus their attention on the taste rather than on the health benefits related to healthy food choices. Under such conditions, BMI is positively correlated with both the neural responses to healthy food choices in those brain areas associated with gustation (insula), reward value (orbitofrontal cortex), and self-control (inferior frontal gyrus), and with the percent of healthy food choices. By contrast, when attention is directed towards health benefits, BMI is negatively correlated with neural activity in gustatory and reward-related brain areas (insula, inferior frontal operculum). Taken together, these findings suggest that those individuals with a high BMI do not necessarily have reduced capacities for self-control but that they may be facilitated by external cues that direct their attention toward the tastiness of healthy food. Thus, promoting the taste of healthy food in communication campaigns and/or food packaging may lead to more successful self-control and healthy food behaviors for consumers with a higher BMI, an issue which needs to be further researched