abstract

We are currently investigating a novel method, known as time-average Fourier telescopy
TAFT, for high-resolution imaging through the turbulent atmosphere. This method, which can be
applied to long-horizontal-path terrestrial imaging, addresses a need that is not solved by the
adaptive optics methods being used in astronomical imaging. Because experimental verification
of the method is quite complicated and requiring of considerable instrumentation, we are
developing a set of computer simulation tools that will allow us to establish the validity of the
underlying concept and to assess its limitations in ground-level imaging over distances of
kilometers to tens of kilometers.
The simulation tools, to be described in this poster presentation, allow us to model with high
accuracy the passage of light waves through typical ground-level turbulence and for large
distances. Preliminary results suggest that, at a minimum, TAFT will allow diffraction-limited
imaging with meter-scale optical apertures operating at distances exceeding a kilometer, a
capability that improves on that of conventional imaging by orders of magnitude.
In this poster we describe the basic scheme of simulation tools, atmospheric turbulence
modeling, split-steps Gaussian beam propagation, phase screen modeling, recent progress and
remaining challenges.

The mirror neuron system MNS consists of a specific class of visuomotor neurons, which
fire for both observation of an action, and for execution of that action, as well as showing
differences for empathy and gender. We studied the effect of different emotions on accuracy and
response time of an imitative motor finger sequencing task for males and females. Method: A
sample of 56 individuals aged 19-40 26 males, 30 females living in South Florida were All
participants had Alexithymia scores of 60 or below and were free of any traumatic head injuries
or current psychological disorders. No differences in years of education or age were found across
groups. Results: 1. A one way ANOVA showed a significant difference in empathy or males and
females F1,546.55, p .05, with a higher score for females. 2. A repeated measures ANOVA was
conducted to compare levels of empathy and accuracy of the two emotion trials happy and angry
among gender. The test of within-subjects effects showed a trend toward significance for the
interaction between the emotion task and empathy level F1,533.05, p .087. Additionally, the
interaction between the emotion task and gender shows a strong trend toward significance
F1,533.73, p .059. No significant interaction was found for response time and empathy.
Discussion: These preliminary results support differences for empathy levels among gender. It is
expected that with a larger sample and more statistical power, significance in reached. These
finding may offer a connection between empathy and gender effects in the MNS.

This research will provide documentation of the trajectory of plant community succession
and carbon accumulation post-fire as well as a comparison between the effects of natural versus
prescribed fires on recovery trajectory. This study will take place in the A.R.M Loxahatchee
National Wildlife Refuge. Historical fire records will be used to select sites along a
chronosequence of time since the most recent occurrence of fire as well as sites differing in the
source of ignition naturally ignited vs. prescribed burns. Vegetation surveys will be performed to
assess the pattern of community change through succession. Aboveground plant biomass will be
estimated non-destructively at each site and soil cores from each plot will be used to quantify soil
accretion and soil quality across the chronosequence. Additionally, monitoring control points
will be established within both historically burned and new prescribed burned sites in the
Refuge. These control points will be revisited in subsequent intervals to document short-term
vegetation recovery. Results of this study will provide quantification of the effectiveness of fire
management practices in the maintenance and restoration of quality habitat in the northern
Everglades as well as provide further insight into how fire severity affects the trajectory of
habitat recovery.

The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is native to South America and was
introduced to Alabama in the 1930s. This predatory species rapidly spread throughout the
southeastern US and parts of the West Indies, causing serious ecological and economic impacts.
Solenopsis invicta is known to attack the eggs and hatchlings of ground nesting birds and
reptiles. The ants also swarm into sea turtle nests attacking hatchlings and diminishing their
chance for survival. This study is part of a larger research that aimed to survey the distribution of
ants at a sea turtle nesting beaches in South Florida and St. Croix, USVI. This particular study
was conducted in Boca Raton, Florida. Besides providing a baseline dataset on ant species
distribution in the area, this study also aimed at validating the survey methodology by finding
consistency in the distribution over multiple days surveyed. The results indicate that, although
more detailed surveys would produce more thorough results, we can state that the methodology
is consistent in determining species distribution.

Chronic activation of the amygdala through repetitive stressful events can lead to
permanent hyper-excitability of its circuitry, which is known to be the root of a number of mood
and anxiety disorders. Small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK) channels expressed on lateral
amygdala (LA) pyramidal neurons shape glutamatergic postsynaptic potentials and module
NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity. When activated, SK channels reduce neuronal
excitability and LTP. Induction of synaptic plasticity in LA pyramidal neurons causes PKAmediated
internalization of SK channels from the postsynaptic density. The current study
examined whether fear conditioning would affect the subsequent sensitivity of mice to novel fear
memory encoding through SK channel blockade by the bee venom peptide, apamin. Naïve male
C57BL/6J mice received a systemic injection of apamin or saline prior to exposure to a 1 tone
(CS) - foot shock (US) conditioning protocol. Tone fear memory strength was examined 24
hours later. The next day, mice received the same or reversed treatments of saline or apamin and
were conditioned to a novel CS and context. The influence of apamin on anxiety was also
examined in the elevated plus maze to determine whether the drug was able to alter anxiety
independent of conditioning. The fear conditioning results suggest that prior fear conditioning
altered the sensitivity of mice to apamin-induced fear memory encoding during the second
conditioning session. The plus maze results indicate that solely apamin does not alter anxiety,
thus fear conditioning impairment in apamin-treated mice is not a reflection of drug effects
alone.

For over a decade, researchers at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute have conducted
surveys of the population of bottlenose dolphins, Tersiops truncatus, in Indian River Lagoon
along the east coast of Florida. I have constructed a detailed 4-stage population model using the
statistical program R. The model is used as a tool for conducting a viability analysis that projects
the dolphin population into the future by analyzing the relationship between birth, calf survival
and adult survival rates. The model also includes a power analysis, which compares survey
frequency to expected confidence intervals in estimating abundance. The model shows a strong
chance of viability over a 50 year time span, primarily due to the large population size of
approximately 700 adult dolphins. The population is vulnerable to long periods of decline if
birth, calf or adult survival rates fall below certain thresholds. The sensitivity analysis, based on
the partial derivatives of the eigenvalue with respect to each matrix element, shows that the
population is most sensitive to changes in adult survival, followed by birth rate and calf survival.
Overall, the model simulates the future impacts of demographic change, and thereby provides a
tool for conservation efforts.

Drawing from the wildly successful use of the executive coaching model in the private
sector, this session will describe how one public institution created their own coaching program,
and equipped not faculty or administration, but rather students to coach each other. This study
explored the motivation of the coaches to devote their time to this effort without financial reward
or recognition. The presenter designed, proposed, promoted, and instituted s2s Coaching.
The purpose of this case study was to explore the perspective of student coaches in the s2s
Coaching program at Palm Beach State College following completion of training in the spring
term of 2013. An additional research question was to assess the coaches’ perspective of the
coach training and their motivation or interest in becoming a student coach. Lastly, the
recommendations of the coaches for future coach training sessions are assessed. Coaches were
interviewed and document review was included in the methodology.
Among the findings that emerged was the discomfort that the coaches felt in maintaining a
professional or institutional role while delving into potentially personal matters, which in their
normal discourse would make them a friend. This fuzzy line between coach and friend
engendered discussion and recommendations for future training and discussion of this topic with
the other coaches. The findings are revealed by a discussion of these categories.

This study explored the healthy aging process by: (a) examining the selected
demographics of older adults in South Florida; (b) examining technology use of older adults in
South Florida; (c) examining the health literacy levels of older adults in South Florida; and (d)
determining whether a relationship exists between older adults living in South Florida use of
technology and their health literacy levels. Variables explored included health literacy,
education, ethnicity, and technology use.
The sample study included 102 older adults (age > 60) living in South Florida that had
completed profiles on the South Florida Quality Aging Registry, a part of the Healthy Aging
Research Initiative (HARI). The ethnicities of the participants among the South Florida Quality
Aging Registry were African American (17%); Afro Caribbean (7.8%); Hispanic (10.7%); and
European American (63.7%). The education mean was 15, indicating that the majority of
participants had an education level equivalent to completing high school. The mean health
literacy score was 3.88, demonstrating that the majority of the participants had moderate levels
of health literacy. The mean technology use score was 7.5 on a scale of one through ten,
indicating that the majority of the participants had a moderate level of technology use. Analysis
of variance, correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis was used to explore the
variables that may influence health literacy.

Spatially continuous cortical surface is composed of neural ensembles interconnected with a
general connectivity embedded local homogeneous connectivity to nearest neighbors and global
heterogeneous projections to distant areas. Interconnection delay and long-range connectivity in
neural field models shows activity transfer via neural oscillation.
Destabilization mechanism of two-point connected dynamical neural system with spatially
variant connection topology as a control parameter leads to phase transition and macroscopic
coherent spatiotemporal pattern formation of neural activity. Authors are intended to generalize
this neural field dynamic to more realistic geometries such as a sphere.

Lewkowicz & Hansen-Tift found that when 4-month-old infants see and hear a person
talking, they look more at her eyes but that 8- and 10-mo infants look more at her mouth. The
developmental attentional shift to the mouth reflects infants’ growing interest in speech.
Attention to the mouth enables infants to gain access to redundant and maximally salient
audiovisual cues which then facilitate speech and language acquisition.
We investigated the separate role of mouth movement and vocalization cues in the attentional
shift from a talker’s eyes to the talker’s mouth. In 3 experiments, we used an eye-tracker to
measure the proportion of attention infants, 4-, 8-, and 10-mo, allocate to the eyes and mouth of a
static/silent face, a static/talking face, and a silently talking face. We found that when infants see
a static person, they attend to the eyes. Lewkowicz & Hansen-Tift found that when infants see
and hear a person talking, 4-mos look at the eyes whereas 8- and 10-mos look at the mouth.
When infants see a silently talking person, only 10-mos look at the mouth. These findings
demonstrate that the shift from the eyes to the mouth is mediated by three factors: dynamic
visual speech cues, an emerging interest in speech, and the redundancy of audiovisual speech.
Thus, younger infants are not interested in speech so they focus on the eyes, whereas older
infants become interested in speech, shifting their focus to the mouth, but initially at 8 m, this
shift requires that speech be multisensory.