Orientation-sensitivity to facial features explains the Thatcher illusion

The Thatcher illusion provides a compelling example of the perceptual cost of face inversion. The Thatcher illusion is often thought to result from a disruption to the processing of spatial relations between face features. Here, we show the limitations of this account and instead demonstrate that the effect of inversion in the Thatcher illusion is better explained by a disruption to the processing of purely local facial features. Using a matching task, we found that participants were able to discriminate normal and Thatcherized versions of the same face when they were presented in an upright orientation, but not when the images were inverted. Next, we showed that the effect of inversion was also apparent when only the eye region or only the mouth region was visible. These results demonstrate that a key component of the Thatcher illusion is to be found in orientation-specific encoding of the expressive features (eyes and mouth) of the face

The stratigraphy of the upper Ordovician of central Portugal.

The project has involved the revision of the stratigraphy of the upper part of the Ordovician succession in central Portugal. Using evidence derived principally from the study of measured sections, with some limited geological mapping, this thesis first considers a new lithostratigraphy of the upper Ordovician deposits. The scheme presented includes four groups, twelve formations and eleven members. Most of the elements of the scheme are described here for the first time. The sedimentology of the deposits has been studied to allow an interpretation of the depositional environment. The history of sedimentation in the upper Ordovician is divided into three broad phases. In the first of these (phase A) storm-dominated deposition of detrital clastics took place on a wide, flat, shallow shelf. During the second phase (B) a localised area of igneous activity developed in the area of highest subsidence seen in the preceding phase. This igneous activity was accompanied by the deposition of some carbonate sediments. The third phase of deposition (C) is linked to the effects of the upper Ordovician glaciation. A review of most of the macrofauna recovered 1s given. The faunas of Portugal form a highly distinct and homogeneous "province" with those of Armorica, Spain, Sardinia. The palaeoecology of the faunas Montagne Noire and collected during this study are discussed. Thirteen broad associations (sensu Lockley 1983) are identified. Factors other than latitude-related influences play an important role in controlling the diversity, abundance and taxonomic constitution of the palaeocommunities. Twelve biozones are erected to cover the range of fossiliferous Ordovician strata examined in this project. The correlation between the biostratigraphie scheme erected herein and the international standard is discussed. An overview attempts to place the study area within the context of the peri-Gondwana shelf, and within the Variscan fold-belt

An SREBP-Responsive microRNA Operon Contributes to a Regulatory Loop for Intracellular Lipid Homeostasis

SummarySterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) have evolved as a focal point for linking lipid synthesis with other pathways that regulate cell growth and survival. Here, we have uncovered a polycistrionic microRNA (miRNA) locus that is activated directly by SREBP-2. Two of the encoded miRNAs, miR-182 and miR-96, negatively regulate the expression of Fbxw7 and Insig-2, respectively, and both are known to negatively affect nuclear SREBP accumulation. Direct manipulation of this miRNA pathway alters nuclear SREBP levels and endogenous lipid synthesis. Thus, we have uncovered a mechanism for the regulation of intracellular lipid metabolism mediated by the concerted action of a pair of miRNAs that are expressed from the same SREBP-2-regulated miRNA locus, and each targets a different protein of the multistep pathway that regulates SREBP function. These studies reveal an miRNA “operon” analogous to the classic model for genetic control in bacterial regulatory systems

The GALEX Ultraviolet Atlas of Nearby Galaxies

We present images, integrated photometry, and surface-brightness and color profiles for a total of 1034 nearby galaxies recently observed by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) satellite in its far-ultraviolet (FUV; λ_(eff) = 1516 Å) and near-ultraviolet (NUV; λ_(eff) = 2267 Å) bands. Our catalog of objects is derived primarily from the GALEX Nearby Galaxies Survey (NGS) supplemented by galaxies larger than 1' in diameter serendipitously found in these fields and in other GALEX exposures of similar of greater depth. The sample analyzed here adequately describes the distribution and full range of properties (luminosity, color, star formation rate [SFR]) of galaxies in the local universe. From the surface brightness profiles obtained we have computed asymptotic magnitudes, colors, and luminosities, along with the concentration indices C31 and C42. We have also morphologically classified the UV surface brightness profiles according to their shape. This data set has been complemented with archival optical, near-infrared, and far-infrared fluxes and colors. We find that the integrated (FUV − K) color provides robust discrimination between elliptical and spiral/irregular galaxies and also among spiral galaxies of different subtypes. Elliptical galaxies with brighter K-band luminosities (i.e., more massive) are redder in (NUV − K) color but bluer in (FUV − NUV) (a color sensitive to the presence of a strong UV upturn) than less massive ellipticals. In the case of the spiral/irregular galaxies our analysis shows the presence of a relatively tight correlation between the (FUV − NUV) color (or, equivalently, the slope of the UV spectrum, β) and the total infrared-to-UV ratio. The correlation found between (FUV − NUV) color and K-band luminosity (with lower luminosity objects being bluer than more luminous ones) can be explained as due to an increase in the dust content with galaxy luminosity. The images in this Atlas along with the profiles and integrated properties are publicly available through a dedicated Web page

The Young and the Dustless: Interpreting Radio Observations of UltraViolet Luminous Galaxies

Ultraviolet Luminous Galaxies (UVLGs) have been identified as intensely star-forming, nearby galaxies. A subset of these, the supercompact UVLGs, are believed to be local analogs of high redshift Lyman Break Galaxies. Here we investigate the radio continuum properties of this important population for the first time. We have observed 42 supercompact UVLGs with the VLA, all of which have extensive coverage in the UV/optical by GALEX and SDSS. Our analysis includes comparison samples of multiwavelength data from the Spitzer First Look Survey and from the SDSS-Galex matched catalogs. In addition we have Spitzer MIPS data for 24 of our galaxies and find that they fall on the radio-FIR correlation of normal star-forming galaxies. We find that our galaxies have lower radio-to-UV ratios and lower Balmer decrements than other local galaxies with similar (high) star formation rates. Optical spectra show they have lower Dn(4000) and HdeltaA indices, higher Hbeta emission-line equivalents widths, and higher [OIII]5007/Hbeta emission-line ratios than normal star forming galaxies. Comparing these results to galaxy spectral evolution models we conclude that supercompact UVLGs are distinguished from normal star forming galaxies firstly by their high specific star formation rates. Moreover, compared to other types of galaxies with similar star formation rates, they have significantly less dust attenuation. In both regards they are similar to Lyman Break Galaxies. This suggests that the process that causes star formation in the supercompact UVLGs differs from other local star forming galaxies, but may be similar to Lyman Break Galaxies.Comment: 37 pages, 13 figures, accepted and scheduled to appear in ApJS December 2007 (GALEX Special Issue

Correction to: Do pain, anxiety and depression influence quality of life for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease? A national study reconciling previous conflicting literature.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. Oliver Hanemann name was incorrect in the in the acknowledgements section of this paper

The fishes of ascension Island, central Atlantic Ocean - new records and an annotated checklist

A checklist of the fishes of Ascension Island is presented. The species Rhincodon typus, Alopias superciliosus, Isurus oxyrinchus, Carcharhinus obscurus, Galeocerdo cuvier, Sphyrna lewini, Hexanchus griseus, Manta birostris, Gymnothorax vicinus, Hippocampus sp., Epinephelus itajara, Cookeolus japonicus, Apogon pseudomaculatus, Phaeoptyx pigmentaria, Remora albescens, Caranx bartholomaei, Carangoides ruber, Decapterus tabl, Seriola dumerili, Thalassoma sanctaehelenae, Cryptotomus sp., Ruvettus pretiosus, Acanthocybium solandri, Auxis rochei, Auxis thazard, Euthynnus alletteratus, Katsuwonus pelamis, Thunnus alalunga, Thunnus obesus, Xiphias gladius, Istiophorus platypterus, Kajikia albida, Makaira nigricans, Tetrapturus pfluegeri, Hyperoglyphe perciformis, Schedophilus sp., Cantherhines macrocerus, Sphoeroides pachygaster and Diodon eydouxii are recorded for the first time from Ascension Island. We have recognized two previous records as identification errors and indicate 11 other records as doubtful. Including the 40 new records, we now list 173 fish species from Ascension Island, of which 133 might be considered 'coastal fish species'. Eleven of these (8.3%) appear to be endemic to the island and a further 16 species (12%) appear to be shared endemics with St Helena Island.Darwin Initiative [EIDCF012]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The UV-Optical Galaxy Color-Magnitude Diagram. I. Basic Properties

We have analyzed the bivariate distribution of galaxies as a function of ultraviolet-optical colors and absolute magnitudes in the local universe. The sample consists of galaxies with redshifts and optical photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) main galaxy sample matched with detections in the near-ultraviolet (NUV) and far-ultraviolet (FUV) bands in the Medium Imaging Survey being carried out by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) satellite. In the (NUV − r)_(0.1) versus M_(r,0.1) galaxy color-magnitude diagram, the galaxies separate into two well-defined blue and red sequences. The (NUV − r)_(0.1) color distribution at each M_(r,0.1) is not well fit by the sum of two Gaussians due to an excess of galaxies in between the two sequences. The peaks of both sequences become redder with increasing luminosity, with a distinct blue peak visible up to M_(r,0.1) ~ − 23. The r_(0.1)-band luminosity functions vary systematically with color, with the faint-end slope and characteristic luminosity gradually increasing with color. After correcting for attenuation due to dust, we find that approximately one-quarter of the color variation along the blue sequence is due to dust, with the remainder due to star formation history and metallicity. Finally, we present the distribution of galaxies as a function of specific star formation rate and stellar mass. The specific star formation rates imply that galaxies along the blue sequence progress from low-mass galaxies with star formation rates that increase somewhat with time to more massive galaxies with a more or less constant star formation rate. Above a stellar mass of ~10^(10.5) M_☉, galaxies with low ratios of current to past averaged star formation rate begin to dominate