Individual Differences in Object Recognition Richler, Jennifer J; Tomarken, Andrew J; Sunday, Mackenzie A ...
Psychological review,
03/2019, Letnik:
126, Številka:
2
Journal Article
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There is substantial evidence for individual differences in personality and cognitive abilities, but we lack clear intuitions about individual differences in visual abilities. Previous work on this ...topic has typically compared performance with only 2 categories, each measured with only 1 task. This approach is insufficient for demonstration of domain-general effects. Most previous work has used familiar object categories, for which experience may vary between participants and categories, thereby reducing correlations that would stem from a common factor. In Study 1, we adopted a latent variable approach to test for the first time whether there is a domain-general object recognition ability, o. We assessed whether shared variance between latent factors representing performance for each of 5 novel object categories could be accounted for by a single higher-order factor. On average, 89% of the variance of lower-order factors denoting performance on novel object categories could be accounted for by a higher-order factor, providing strong evidence for o. Moreover, o also accounted for a moderate proportion of variance in tests of familiar object recognition. In Study 2, we assessed whether the strong association across categories in object recognition is due to third-variable influences. We find that o has weak to moderate associations with a host of cognitive, perceptual, and personality constructs and that a clear majority of the variance in and covariance between performance on different categories is independent of fluid intelligence. This work provides the first demonstration of a reliable, specific, and domain-general object recognition ability, and suggest a rich framework for future work in this area.
We present the results of a deep ZYJ near-infrared survey of 13.5 deg2 in the Upper Scorpius (USco) OB association. We photometrically selected ∼100 cluster member candidates with masses in the range ...of 30-5 Jupiters, according to state-of-the-art evolutionary models. We identified 67 ZYJ candidates as bona fide members, based on complementary photometry and astrometry. We also extracted five candidates detected with Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy at YJ only. One is excluded using deep optical z-band imaging, while two are likely non-members, and three remain as potential members. We conclude that the USco mass function is more likely decreasing in the planetary-mass regime (although a flat mass function cannot yet be discarded), consistent with surveys in other regions.
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity has documented a section of fluvio-lacustrine strata at Yellowknife Bay (YKB), an embayment on the floor of Gale crater, approximately 500 m east of ...the Bradbury landing site. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data and evolved gas analysis (EGA) data from the CheMin and SAM instruments show that two powdered mudstone samples (named John Klein and Cumberland) drilled from the Sheepbed member of this succession contain up to ∼20 wt% clay minerals. A trioctahedral smectite, likely a ferrian saponite, is the only clay mineral phase detected in these samples. Smectites of the two samples exhibit different 001 spacing under the low partial pressures of H2O inside the CheMin instrument (relative humidity <1%). Smectite interlayers in John Klein collapsed sometime between clay mineral formation and the time of analysis to a basal spacing of 10 A, but largely remain open in the Cumberland sample with a basal spacing of ∼13.2 A. Partial intercalation of Cumberland smectites by metal-hydroxyl groups, a common process in certain pedogenic and lacustrine settings on Earth, is our favored explanation for these differences.The relatively low abundances of olivine and enriched levels of magnetite in the Sheepbed mudstone, when compared with regional basalt compositions derived from orbital data, suggest that clay minerals formed with magnetite in situ via aqueous alteration of olivine. Mass-balance calculations are permissive of such a reaction. Moreover, the Sheepbed mudstone mineral assemblage is consistent with minimal inputs of detrital clay minerals from the crater walls and rim. Early diagenetic fabrics suggest clay mineral formation prior to lithification. Thermodynamic modeling indicates that the production of authigenic magnetite and saponite at surficial temperatures requires a moderate supply of oxidants, allowing circum-neutral pH. The kinetics of olivine alteration suggest the presence of fluids for thousands to hundreds of thousands of years. Mineralogical evidence of the persistence of benign aqueous conditions at YKB for extended periods indicates a potentially habitable environment where life could establish itself. Mediated oxidation of Fe2+ in olivine to Fe3+ in magnetite, and perhaps in smectites provided a potential energy source for organisms.
The association between asthma and COVID-19 mortality remains inconclusive. We examined the association between asthma and clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19.
A case–control study based on a ...surveillance cohort in Harris County, Texas.
Using the data of 21,765 patients who reported having at least one chronic health condition, we investigated the association between asthma and COVID-19 severity, characterized primarily by hospitalization and death. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to estimate the multivariable odds ratio (mOR) and its 95 % confidence interval (CI) of COVID-19 severity associated with asthma and other chronic lung diseases, adjusting for demographic and other comorbidities. A P-value < 0.005 was considered statistically significant after correcting multiple testing.
In total, 3034 patients (13.9 %) had asthma, and 774 (3.56 %) had other chronic lung diseases. The case death rate among patients with asthma and other chronic lung diseases was 0.75 % and 19.0 %, respectively. Compared to patients without the respective conditions, patients with asthma had lower odds of death (mOR = 0.44, 95 % CI: 0.27–0.69), while patients with other chronic lung diseases had higher odds of hospitalization (mOR = 2.02, 95 % CI: 1.68–2.42) and death (mOR = 1.95, 95 % CI: 1.52–2.49) (P-values < 0.005). Risk factors for COVID-19 mortality included older age, male gender, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, active cancer, and chronic kidney disease.
The public health surveillance data suggested that preexisting asthma was inversely associated with COVID-19 mortality.
Bartonella henselae is an emerging bacterial pathogen, causing cat scratch disease and bacillary angiomatosis. Cats bacteremic with B. henselae constitute a large reservoir from which humans become ...infected. Prevention of human infection depends on elucidation of the natural history and means of feline infection. We studied 47 cattery cats in a private home for 12 months to determine the longitudinal prevalence of B. henselae bacteremia, the prevalence of B. henselae in the fleas infesting these cats, and whether B. henselae is transmitted experimentally to cats via fleas. Vector-mediated transmission of B. henselae isolates was evaluated by removing fleas from the naturally bacteremic, flea-infested cattery cats and transferring these fleas to specific-pathogen-free (SPF) kittens housed in a controlled, arthropod-free University Animal Facility. B. henselae bacteremia was detected in 89% of the 47 naturally infected cattery cats. A total of 132 fleas were removed from cats whose blood was simultaneously cultured during different seasons and were tested individually for the presence of B. henselae DNA by PCR. B. henselae DNA was detected in 34% of 132 fleas, with seasonal variation, but without an association between the presence or the level of bacteremia in the corresponding cat. Cat fleas removed from bacteremic cattery cats transmitted B. henselae to five SPF kittens in two separate experiments; however, control SPF kittens housed with highly bacteremic kittens in the absence of fleas did not become infected. These data demonstrate that the cat flea readily transmits B. henselae to cats. Control of feline infestation with this arthropod vector may provide an important strategy for the prevention of infection of both humans and cats
The relationship between Alzheimer disease (AD) and aging is not currently known. In this study, postmortem frontal- and occipital-pole brain samples were obtained from 16 subjects with AD, 8 ...age-matched controls, and 5 young controls. These samples were analyzed both for protein oxidation products (carbonyl) and the activities of two enzymes vulnerable to mixed-function oxidation, glutamine synthetase and creatine kinase. Glutamine synthetase is more sensitive to mixed-function oxidation than creatine kinase. Carbonyl content rises exponentially with age, at double the rate in the frontal pole compared with the occipital pole. Compared with young controls, both aged groups (AD and age-matched controls) have increased carbonyl content and decreased glutamine synthetase and creatine kinase activities, which are more marked in the frontal than occipital pole in all instances. We conclude that protein oxidation products accumulate in the brain and that oxidation-vulnerable enzyme activities decrease with aging in the same regional pattern (frontal more affected than occipital). However, only glutamine synthetase activity distinguishes AD from age-matched controls: Because glutamine synthetase activity is differentially reduced in the frontal pole in AD, we suggest that AD may represent a specific brain vulnerability to age-related oxidation.
Background & Aims: Cancer of the gallbladder is the number one cause of cancer mortality in Chilean women. Incidence rates for this tumor vary widely on a worldwide basis, being approximately 30 ...times higher in high-risk than in low-risk populations, suggesting that environmental factors such as infectious microorganisms, carcinogens, and nutrition play a role in its pathogenesis. Because several
Helicobacter sp. colonize the livers of animals and induce hepatitis, the aim of this study was to determine whether
Helicobacter infection was associated with cholecystitis in humans.
Methods: Bile or resected gallbladder tissue from 46 Chileans with chronic cholecystitis undergoing cholecystectomy were cultured for
Helicobacter sp. and subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis using
Helicobacter-specific 16S ribosomal RNA primers.
Results: Recovery of
Helicobacter sp. from frozen specimens was unsuccessful. However, by PCR analysis, 13 of 23 bile samples and 9 of 23 gallbladder tissues were positive for
Helicobacter. Eight of the
Helicobacter-specific PCR amplicons were sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Five sequences represented strains of
H. bilis, two strains of “
Flexispira rappini” (ATCC 49317), and one strain of
H. pullorum.
Conclusions: These data support an association of bile-resistant
Helicobacter sp. with gallbladder disease. Further studies are needed to ascertain whether similar
Helicobacter sp. play a causative role in the development of gallbladder cancer.
GASTROENTEROLOGY 1998;114:755-763
The isolation of Bartonella henselae, the agent of cat scratch disease, from the blood of naturally infected domestic cats and the demonstration that cats remain bacteremic for several months suggest ...that cats play a major role as a reservoir for this bacterium. A convenience sample of 205 cats from northern California was selected between 1992 and 1994 to evaluate the B. henselae antibody and bacteremia prevalences and to determine the risk factors and associations between bacteremia and antibody titers. B. henselae was isolated from the blood of 81 cats (39.5%). Forty-two (52%) of these bacteremic cats were found to be infected with greater than or equal to 1,000 CFU/ml of blood. Impounded or former stray cats were 2.86 (95% confidence interval CI = 1.94, 4.22) times more likely to be bacteremic than the pet cats. Young cats (< 1 year old) were more likely than adult cats to be bacteremic (relative risk = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.19, 2.28). Bacteremic cats were more likely than nonbacteremic cats to be infested with fleas (relative risk = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.38, 1.96). No association between B. henselae infection and feline immunodeficiency virus antibody prevalence was observed. Eighty-one percent of the cats (166 of 205) tested positive for B. henselae antibodies, and titers were higher in bacteremic than in nonbacteremic cats. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that younger age and seropositivity for B. henselae antibodies were associated with bacteremia. Serological screening for Bartonella antibodies may not be useful for the identification of bacteremic cats (positive predictive value = 46.4%), but the lack of antibodies to B. henselae was highly predictive of the absence of bacteremia (negative predictive value = 89.7%). Sero-negative cats may be more appropriate pets for immunocompromised individuals who are at increased risk for developing severe B. henselae disease.
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