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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (26 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Volume 27 (2005)
    Cover page: Denial Inferences: Oaksford, Chater & Larkin (2000) on Shaky Ground
    • Thesis
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2020)

    I consider how current theory in fundamental physics matters to the development of future theory in the discipline. As discussed in the Introduction (Chapter 1), my aim is to better understand how we may achieve transformational research in fundamental physics, particularly concerning quantum gravity, when it is our current theoretical understanding that nonetheless functions as our guide. Toward that end, Chapter 2 provides a methodology within contemporary quantum gravity research that is consistent with the focus given to the `cosmological constant problem' in practice. The method I sketch there is contrary to a picture of theory development that is otherwise spelled out in terms of explorations of theory space. Instead, it centers the importance of specifying the technical machinery that is needed to articulate empirical problems for the future theory, in advance of that theory's development. Chapter 3 then argues that this method can be epistemically well founded. In the case of the historically standard version of the cosmological constant problem, the grounds for pursuing solutions to the problem in the course of quantum gravity research ultimately trace back to beliefs concerning what it is about our current, empirically successful theories that accounts for their successes. In Chapter 4, I then shift gears in order to argue against the applicability of a recent account of creativity in scientific discovery, which is spelled out in terms of the wide exploration of something very much like theory space. This picks up a thread from Chapter 2, which I expand upon in the Conclusion (Chapter 5). Ultimately, the perspective on theory development supported by the method I articulate seems to better capture how, beginning with current theory, we may wind up with a future theory of quantum gravity that is sufficiently novel to accomplish all that we presently demand of it.

      Cover page: Tea Leaves and Telescopes: Creating future fundamental theory in physics
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Volume 36 (2014)
        Cover page: The influence of feedback on the flexibility of strategy choices in algebraic problem solving
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2000)
        We present a mildly affected girl with de novo dup(17)(p11.2p11.2). The patient was evaluated because of minor anomalies noted during a hospitalization for nonrecurrent tonic-clonic seizures associated with transient hypoglycemia. She also had unilateral renal hypoplasia and relative short stature, but at 2 years of age, she scored within the low normal range on neurodevelopmental examinations. Compared with other similar duplications, this patient represents the milder range of the spectrum for this karyotypic abnormality. Am. J. Med. Genet. 94:296-299, 2000.
          Cover page: Mild phenotype due to tandem duplication of l7p11.2Creative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Volume 35 (2013)
            Cover page: Limitations and chances of working memory training
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2003)
            We describe the phenotype of a 5 year old girl with features resembling Temtamy syndrome, including agenesis of the corpus callosum, ventriculomegaly, frontal bossing, peaked eyebrows, ptosis, malformed and low set ears, a depressed nasal bridge, a long philtrum, and iris and chorioretinal colobomas. Features unique to this child include profound mental retardation, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, agenesis of the corpus callosum, patent ductus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect, unilateral renal agenesis, neurogenic bladder and hydronephrosis. High resolution chromosome analysis demonstrated a de novo, balanced translocation [46,XX,t(2;9)(p24;q32)]; and her case has some overlapping phenotypic features with cases of monosomy for 2p. This is the first documented case of Temtamy syndrome with a specific chromosomal anomaly, and will assist with the elucidation of the syndrome's underlying genetic defect.
              Cover page: Temtamy-like syndrome associated with translocation of 2p24 and 9q32Creative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC Davis Previously Published Works (2016)
              We present a tomographic cosmic shear study from the Deep Lens Survey (DLS), which, providing a limiting magnitude rlim ∼ 27 (5s), is designed as a precursor Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) survey with an emphasis on depth. Using five tomographic redshift bins, we study their auto- and cross-correlations to constrain cosmological parameters. We use a luminosity-dependent nonlinear model to account for the astrophysical systematics originating from intrinsic alignments of galaxy shapes. We find that the cosmological leverage of the DLS is among the highest among existing >10 deg2 cosmic shear surveys. Combining the DLS tomography with the 9 yr results of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP9) gives W = m 0.293- +0.014 0.012, s-1 = 0.833 +0.018-0.011, = +- H0 68.6 km s Mpc 1.2+1.4 - - 1 1, and W = b 0.0475 0.0012 for CDM, reducing the uncertainties of the WMAP9- only constraints by ∼50%. When we do not assume flatness for CDM, we obtain the curvature constraint W = - +- k 0.010 0.015+0.013 from the DLS+WMAP9 combination, which, however, is not well constrained when WMAP9 is used alone. The dark energy equation-of-state parameter w is tightly constrained when baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) data are added, yielding w = -1.02- +0.090.10 with the DLS+WMAP9+BAO joint probe. The addition of supernova constraints further tightens the parameter to w = - 1.03 ±0.03. Our joint constraints are fully consistent with the final Planck results and also with the predictions of a CDM universe.
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2014)

                Objective

                Examine changes in, and factors associated with changing body mass index (BMI) in women following highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) initiation.

                Methods

                1177 HIV-infected Women's Interagency HIV Study participants who contributed 10,754 years of follow-up following HAART initiation were studied. Changes in median BMI up to 15 years following HAART initiation, and the highest and lowest BMI reached following HAART initiation were summarized by pre-HAART BMI category (<18.5 [underweight], 18.5-<25.0 [normal weight], 25.0-<30.0 [overweight], 30.0-<40.0 [obese], and ≥ 40.0 [morbidly obese]). Multivariate mixed effects ordinal logistic regression estimated the degree of association of each exposure of interest with post-HAART BMI.

                Results

                Before HAART, 39% percent of women had normal BMI, 31% were overweight, 23% were obese, and 5% were morbidly obese. Following HAART initiation, median BMI change (per 5 years) was 0.21 kg/m2 (90% confidence interval [CI]: -1.33, 0.42) for those with normal pre-HAART BMI, 0.39 kg/m2 (90% CI: 0.15,0.66) for overweight, 0.31 kg/m2 (90% CI: -1.18,0.67) for obese, and -0.36kg/m2 for morbidly obese women. After initiating HAART, 40% with normal pre-HAART BMI became overweight at some point; of those overweight, 46% remained overweight and 47% became obese; 71% of obese women remained obese and 27% became morbidly obese. Each year of nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor use was associated with a 3% decreased odds of reaching a higher BMI category (OR 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95, 0.99), while each year of protease inhibitor or non-nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor use were associated with a 6% (OR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.08) and 5%(OR 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.08) increased odds of having a higher BMI category, respectively.

                Conclusions

                Although overweight and obesity are highly prevalent in this large cohort of HIV-infected, minority women, HAART use was associated with only a modest increase in BMI over time.
                  Cover page: Changes in Body Mass Index Following HAART Initiation among HIV Infected Women in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study
                  • Article
                  • Peer Reviewed
                  Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Volume 35 (2013)
                    Cover page: The Co-Existence of Naïve and Scientific Concepts in Learning and Development
                    • Article
                    • Peer Reviewed
                    UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2012)

                    Background

                    Data regarding the association between HIV and diabetes mellitus (DM) are conflicting, with little known regarding the impact of including hemoglobin A1C (A1C) as a criterion for DM.

                    Methods

                    Pooled logistic regression was used to quantify the association between HIV and DM in 1501 HIV-infected and 550 HIV-uninfected participants from the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Incident DM was defined using the following 3 criteria, definition I: fasting glucose (FG) ≥126 mg/dL, anti-DM medication or reporting DM diagnosis (with confirmation by FG ≥126 mg/dL or anti-DM medication); definition II: confirmation with a second FG ≥126 mg/dL, and definition III: addition of A1C ≥6.5% confirmed by FG ≥126 mg/dL or anti-DM medication.

                    Results

                    DM incidence per 100 person-years was 2.44, 1.55, and 1.70 for HIV-infected women; 1.89, 0.85, and 1.13 for HIV-uninfected women, using definition I, II, and III, respectively. After adjustment for traditional DM risk factors, HIV infection was associated with 1.23-, 1.90-, and 1.38-fold higher risk of incident DM, respectively; the association reached statistical significance only when confirmation with a second FG ≥126 mg/dL was required. Older age, obesity, and a family history of DM were each consistently and strongly associated with increased DM risk.

                    Conclusions

                    HIV infection is consistently associated with greater risk of DM. Inclusion of an elevated A1C to define DM increases the accuracy of the diagnosis and only slightly attenuates the magnitude of the association otherwise observed between HIV and DM. By contrast, a DM diagnosis made without any confirmatory criteria for FG ≥126 mg/dL overestimates the incidence, while also underestimating the effects of HIV on DM risk, and should be avoided.
                      Cover page: Association of HIV Infection With Incident Diabetes Mellitus
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