The effect of familiarity on face adaptation

Face aftereffects can provide information on how faces are stored by the human visual system (eg Leopold et al, 2001 Nature Neuroscience 4 89 – 94), but few studies have used robustly represented (highly familiar) faces. In this study we investigated the influence of facial familiarity on adaptation effects. Participants were adapted to a series of distorted faces (their own face, a famous face, or an unfamiliar face). In experiment 1, figural aftereffects were significantly smaller when participants were adapted to their own face than when they were adapted to the other faces (ie their own face appeared significantly less distorted than a famous or unfamiliar face). Experiment 2 showed that this ‘own-face’ effect did not occur when the same faces were used as adaptation stimuli for participants who were unfamiliar with them. Experiment 3 replicated experiment 1, but included a pre-adaptation baseline. The results highlight the importance of considering facial familiarity when conducting research on face aftereffects

The Apollo 15 coarse fines (4-10 mm)

A new catalog of the Apollo 15 coarse fines particles is presented. Powell's macroscopic descriptions, resulting from his 1972 particle by particle binocular examination of all of the Apollo 15 4 to 10 mm fines samples, are retained. His groupings are also retained, but petrographic, chemical, and other data from later analyses are incorporated into this catalog to better characterize individual particles and describe the groups. A large number of particles have no characterization beyond that done by Powell. Complete descriptions of the particles and all known references are provided. The catalog is intended for anyone interested in the rock types collected by Dave Scott and Jim Irwin in the Hadley-Appenine region, and particularly for researchers requiring sample allocations

A Whitehall perspective on decentralisation in England’s emerging territories

Decentralisation is a key thread running through current UK policy making. The Coalition Government has abolished New Labour’s regional legacy in favour of a new set of strategies around growth and development that has tapped into the localist agenda. Drawing on a series of recent interviews conducted with civil servants, this article explores government initiatives aimed at enhancing local autonomy in England and provides new empirical insights into decentralisation from a Whitehall perspective. It examines departmental aspirations for decentralised structures and Whitehall perceptions of the capacity of local arrangements to successfully manage territorial development in an era of austerity. The article concludes that, in the fields of economic development, planning and transport, there are signs of enhanced local policy and fiscal autonomy. However, there are different levels of enthusiasm for decentralisation across and within Whitehall departments that continue to undermine a more cohesive approach. </jats:p

The endurance of children's working memory : a recall time analysis.

We analyse the timing of recall as a source of information about children’s performance in complex working memory tasks. A group of 8-year- old children performed a traditional operation span task in which sequence length increased across trials and an operation period task in which processing requirements were extended across trials of constant sequence length. Interword pauses were larger than is commonly found in immediate serial recall tasks, yet shorter than for reading span. These pauses increased with the demands of recall, decreased across the output sequence and were to some extent predictive of scholastic ability. Overall, timing data illustrate that recall in working memory tasks involve subtle processes of item access rather than simple read-out of information from an immediate store

The Exercise of External Self-Determination by Indigenous Groups: The Republic of Lakotah and the Inherent Sovereignty of American Indigenous Peoples

Abstract This article examines the implications of the choice made by the Republic of Lakotah to rely on international treaty law rather than the exercise of self-determination in declaring its independence from the United States in 2007 and 2010. States have long expressed resistance towards the granting of the principle of self-determination to minorities and indigenous groups. States fear that granting this right would lead to groups taking action to secede from the state. This article considers whether state fears of secession are realistic, and whether there is, in fact, a credible claim to external self-determination under international law for indigenous groups, or whether state fears of indigenous self-determination are grounded in other issues

The Role of Osteocytes in Targeted Bone Remodeling: A Mathematical Model

Until recently many studies of bone remodeling at the cellular level have focused on the behavior of mature osteoblasts and osteoclasts, and their respective precursor cells, with the role of osteocytes and bone lining cells left largely unexplored. This is particularly true with respect to the mathematical modeling of bone remodeling. However, there is increasing evidence that osteocytes play important roles in the cycle of targeted bone remodeling, in serving as a significant source of RANKL to support osteoclastogenesis, and in secreting the bone formation inhibitor sclerostin. Moreover, there is also increasing interest in sclerostin, an osteocyte-secreted bone formation inhibitor, and its role in regulating local response to changes in the bone microenvironment. Here we develop a cell population model of bone remodeling that includes the role of osteocytes, sclerostin, and allows for the possibility of RANKL expression by osteocyte cell populations. This model extends and complements many of the existing mathematical models for bone remodeling but can be used to explore aspects of the process of bone remodeling that were previously beyond the scope of prior modeling work. Through numerical simulations we demonstrate that our model can be used to theoretically explore many of the most recent experimental results for bone remodeling, and can be utilized to assess the effects of novel bone-targeting agents on the bone remodeling process