Limits on the infrared photometric monitoring of brown dwarfs

Recent monitoring programs of ultra cool field M and L dwarfs (low mass stars or brown dwarfs) have uncovered low amplitude photometric I-band variations which may be associated with an inhomogeneous distribution of photospheric condensates. Further evidence hints that this distribution may evolve on very short timescales, specifically of order a rotation period or less. In an attempt to study this behaviour in more detail, we have carried out a pilot program to monitor three L dwarfs in the near infrared where these objects are significantly brighter than at shorter wavelengths. We present a robust data analysis method for improving the precision and reliability of infrared photometry. No significant variability was detected in either the J or Km bands in 2M1439 and SDSS1203 above a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.04 mag (0.08 mag for 2M1112). The main limiting factor in achieving lower detection limits is suspected to be second order extinction effects in the Earth's atmosphere, on account of the very different colours of the target and reference stars. Suggestions are given for overcoming such effects which should improve the sensitivity and reliability of infrared variability searches.Comment: MNRAS, in press (9 pages

The role of the right tempoparietal junction in the elicitation of vicarious experiences and detection accuracy while observing pain and touch

This study investigated the effects of observing pain and touch in others upon vicarious somatosensory experiences and the detection of subtle somatosensory stimuli. Furthermore, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was used to assess the role of the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), as this brain region has been suggested to be involved in perspective taking and self-other distinction. Undergraduates (N = 22) viewed videos depicting hands being touched, hands being pricked, and control scenes (same approaching movement as in the other video categories but without the painful/touching object), while experiencing vibrotactile stimuli themselves on the left, right, or both hands. Participants reported the location at which they felt a somatosensory stimulus. Vibrotactile stimuli and visual scenes were applied in a congruent or incongruent way. During three separate testing sessions, excitability of the rTPJ was modulated with tDCS (cathodal, anodal, or sham). We calculated the proportion of correct responses and false alarms (i.e., number of trials in which a vicarious somatosensory experience was reported congruent to the site of the visual information). Pain-related scenes facilitated the correct detection of tactile stimuli and augmented the number of vicarious somatosensory experiences compared with observing touch or control videos. Stimulation of the rTPJ had no reliable influence upon detection accuracy or the number of vicarious errors. This study indicates that the observation of pain-related scenes compared to the observation of touch or control videos increases the likelihood that a somatosensory stimulus is detected. Contrary to our expectations, the rTPJ did not modulate detection accuracy

Biomolecule-directed assembly of nanoscale building blocks studied via lattice Monte Carlo simulation

We perform lattice Monte Carlo simulations to study the self-assembly of functionalized inorganic nanoscale building blocks using recognitive biomolecule linkers. We develop a minimal coarse-grained lattice model for the nanoscale building block (NBB) and the recognitive linkers. Using this model, we explore the influence of the size ratio of linker length to NBB diameter on the assembly process and the structural properties of the resulting aggregates, including the spatial distribution of NBBs and aggregate topology. We find the constant-kernel Smoluchowski theory of diffusion-limited cluster–cluster aggregation describes the aggregation kinetics for certain size ratios. © 2004 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70812/2/JCPSA6-121-8-3919-1.pd

Graphene Field Effect Transistor for Radiation Detection on a Micron to Millimeter Scale

Novel technology in radiation detection is critical to advancing radiation detectors for their many applications. Graphene has shown to be able to change its conductivity in the presence of an electric field; this makes it an excellent candidate to be used as a radiation detector for the detection of the charges generated during radiation interactions. Research has been done on making micron scale graphene field effect transistors (GFET) with graphene on a Si/SiO2 wafer, but it is critical that we try to increase the scale. Unknowns persist in scaling graphene to millimeter sizes. This study plans to elucidate any of the unknowns in graphene conductivity by using 4 different sized GFETs: graphene strip sizes of 10um x 60um, 50um x 300um, 100um x 600um, and 500um x 3000um. These strips of graphene will be etched out of a graphene sheet on Si/SiO2 wafers. Gold pads were connected to these strips of graphene via optical lithography. These devices will have their electrical properties characterized in future experiments to determine if mm scale graphene radiation detection is a worthwhile pursuit

Challenges in the comparative study of empathy and related phenomena in animals

The aim of this review is to discuss recent arguments and findings in the comparative study of empathy. Based on a multidisciplinary approach including psychology and ethology, we review the non-human animal literature concerning theoretical frameworks, methodology, and research outcomes. One specific objective is to highlight discrepancies between theory and empirical findings, and to discuss ambiguities present in current data and their interpretation. In particular, we focus on emotional contagion and its experimental investigation, and on consolation and targeted helping as measures for sympathy. Additionally, we address the feasibility of comparing across species with behavioural data alone. One main conclusion of our review is that animal research on empathy still faces the challenge of closing the gap between theoretical concepts and empirical evidence. To advance our knowledge, we propose to focus more on the emotional basis of empathy, rather than on possibly ambiguous behavioural indicators, and we provide suggestions to overcome the limitations of previous researchPeer reviewe

What Are You Feeling? Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Assess the Modulation of Sensory and Affective Responses during Empathy for Pain

BACKGROUND: Recent neuroscientific evidence suggests that empathy for pain activates similar neural representations as the first-hand experience of pain. However, empathy is not an all-or-none phenomenon but it is strongly malleable by interpersonal, intrapersonal and situational factors. This study investigated how two different top-down mechanisms - attention and cognitive appraisal - affect the perception of pain in others and its neural underpinnings. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We performed one behavioral (N = 23) and two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments (N = 18). In the first fMRI experiment, participants watched photographs displaying painful needle injections, and were asked to evaluate either the sensory or the affective consequences of these injections. The role of cognitive appraisal was examined in a second fMRI experiment in which participants watched injections that only appeared to be painful as they were performed on an anesthetized hand. Perceiving pain in others activated the affective-motivational and sensory-discriminative aspects of the pain matrix. Activity in the somatosensory areas was specifically enhanced when participants evaluated the sensory consequences of pain. Perceiving non-painful injections into the anesthetized hand also led to signal increase in large parts of the pain matrix, suggesting an automatic affective response to the putatively harmful stimulus. This automatic response was modulated by areas involved in self/other distinction and valence attribution - including the temporo-parietal junction and medial orbitofrontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings elucidate how top-down control mechanisms and automatic bottom-up processes interact to generate and modulate other-oriented responses. They stress the role of cognitive processing in empathy, and shed light on how emotional and bodily awareness enable us to evaluate the sensory and affective states of others