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text:
$3.5 Million Worth of KuCoin's Stolen Funds Are on the Move
Following this year's infamous KuCoin hack, funds are still being moved in large quantities.
By Scott Chipolina
Stolen funds from the KuCoin hack are still being moved. Image: Shutterstock
Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin was hacked earlier this year.
Some of the funds are still being moved, with $3.5 million worth being transferred today.
The $3.5 million has been moved in three separate transactions.
A total of $3.5 million worth of stolen funds has today been transferred to an unknown wallet following the KuCoin hack earlier this year, according to blockchain tracking system Whale Alert.
Crypto exchange KuCoin was hacked on September 25, 2020. It has been estimated that over 1,000 Bitcoin (BTC) was stolen, along with other stolen cryptocurrency in the form of Litecoin (LTC), the stablecoin Tether (USDT), and XRP. While the hack was now some time ago, the funds continue to move across various blockchains—as the attackers look to escape with the money.
"1.7 million DX ($2.4 million) of stolen funds transferred from Kucoin Hack 2020 to unknown wallet," Whale Alert said in a tweet today.
In addition to the above transaction, two more transactions using KuCoin stolen funds have occurred.
One involved the transfer of 26.5 million Dragonchain (DGRN) ($1 million), while 8.7 million of Request Network (REQ) ($154,000) was also moved. Each of these transactions were also sent to unknown wallets.
As the international media focuses on the ongoing coverage of America's 2020 presidential election, it is possible the attackers were hoping to hide under the radar.
https://decrypt.co/47188/3-5-million-worth-of-kucoins-stolen-funds-are-on-the-move

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Take a look at some of the smoking divas who smoke in real life.
Is emily thorne dating daniel in real life, share this article
Victoria pays a man named Benjamin Greevy to seduce Marion and at a Thanksgiving dinner intells him about Marion's true self, which disgusts him. Fans still eagerly await the definite wedding date, and are thrilled that the two stars found love on the show.
When Mason is distracted, Emily gets revenge against him by setting fire to his house and thus destroying all his first edition books and manuscripts. Although the test reveals the father is indeed Jack, Emily claims to Amanda that she was forced to rig the test.
Leslie Thompkins, the attraction between the actor and the actress translated to more than just onscreen chemistry. No one knew about their relationship until Baccarin made a public statement about her ongoing divorce from Austin Chick.
Then Emily send the videos to the press.
Amanda shot Nate in the back, but Nate triggered an explosion, killing himself and Amanda. Sara's brother Patrick made a brief appearance in Season 1 when he trashed Daniel's car as revenge for what happened to Sara.
James Purefoy as Dominik Wright season 1a painter and an old lover of Victoria's before her marriage to Conrad. She intended to use Daniel for another terrorist attack, like Flight When the real killer confesses, Kenny decides to leave the Porters alone.
Sebastian Pigott as Lyman Ellis Season 4: Since both stars played lead roles in the series, they continued to work together for three additional years post-divorce until Murray left after season 6. In this section, "Emily Thorne" will be referred to as "Amanda Clarke", her real name.
She was his nurse beforehand and is intent on taking Victoria's place as queen of the Hamptons.
Victoria later employs him to stage an attack on Daniel in prison to convince Judge Hawthorne to reconsider bail, and then to threaten one of the jurors into voting in Daniel's favor. It is later revealed that he and his brother Nate want revenge because they believe Carl Porter had murdered their father.
She kept letters from David Clarke hidden from Amanda and later sold them to Mason Treadwell, and they were destroyed in the fire Emily set at his home. Uncertain about her baby's paternity due to a one-night stand after leaving the Hamptons, Amanda asks Emily to ensure that the paternity test names Jack as the father.
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text:
The pupil responds spontaneously to perceived numerosity
The size of the attentional window when measured by the pupillary response to light
Shira Tkacz-Domb & Yaffa Yeshurun
Numerosity tuning in human association cortices and local image contrast representations in early visual cortex
Jacob M. Paul, Martijn van Ackooij, … Ben M. Harvey
Arousal-based pupil modulation is dictated by luminance
Jasmine Pan, Michaela Klímová, … Sam Ling
Regulation of evidence accumulation by pupil-linked arousal processes
Waitsang Keung, Todd A. Hagen & Robert C. Wilson
Hidden by bias: how standard psychophysical procedures conceal crucial aspects of peripheral visual appearance
Fazilet Zeynep Yildirim, Daniel R. Coates & Bilge Sayim
Motion-induced compression of perceived numerosity
Michele Fornaciai, Irene Togoli & Roberto Arrighi
Retinotopic effects of visual attention revealed by dichoptic multifocal pupillography
Yanti Rosli, Corinne Frances Carle, … Ted Maddess
Luminance gradient at object borders communicates object location to the human oculomotor system
Markku Kilpeläinen & Mark A. Georgeson
Pupil dilation but not microsaccade rate robustly reveals decision formation
Christoph Strauch, Lukas Greiter & Anke Huckauf
Elisa Castaldi1,2,
Antonella Pomè2,
Guido Marco Cicchini3,
David Burr ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1541-88322,4 &
Paola Binda ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7200-353X1
158 Altmetric
Object vision
Although luminance is the main determinant of pupil size, the amplitude of the pupillary light response is also modulated by stimulus appearance and attention. Here we ask whether perceived numerosity modulates the pupillary light response. Participants passively observed arrays of black or white dots of matched physical luminance but different physical or illusory numerosity. In half the patterns, pairs of dots were connected by lines to create dumbbell-like shapes, inducing an illusory underestimation of perceived numerosity; in the other half, connectors were either displaced or removed. Constriction to white arrays and dilation to black were stronger for patterns with higher perceived numerosity, either physical or illusory, with the strength of the pupillary light response scaling with the perceived numerosity of the arrays. Our results show that even without an explicit task, numerosity modulates a simple automatic reflex, suggesting that numerosity is a spontaneously encoded visual feature.
Being able to efficiently estimate the number of enemies or prey is essential for survival: all animals1—from insects to humans—are capable of some form of numerosity discrimination. Much evidence suggests that numerosity discrimination is a basic and spontaneous sense, often referred to as the number sense2,3. For example, in monkeys and crows, single neurons are tuned to numerosity, before any training on numerosity tasks4,5,6; in humans, crude number discrimination has been documented as early as a few hours after birth7,8. Neural representation of numerosity is organized within a topographic principle, such as that for most sensory attributes9,10. Visual processing of numerosity is rapid, with numerosity-specific signals emerging in the occipital cortex only 75 ms after stimulus onset11, and humans can saccade rapidly to the more numerous target, as quickly as 190 ms12, implicating primitive, possibly subcortical, circuitry that quickly transforms numerosity information into an oculomotor response. This and other literature point to numerosity being a salient perceptual feature, eliciting a spontaneous perceptual response.
The pupillary light response is one of the most basic sensory responses, serving primarily to regulate light entry and aid dark adaptation13,14. However, even when luminance is kept constant, pupil size can vary predictably and systematically with the effective strength of stimulation. For example, attending to a bright or dark patch will enhance the pupillary response evoked by the patch15,16. Moreover, brightness17 and size18 illusions, and even the implied brightness of images of the sun and moon19,20, can elicit strong and reliable pupillary constriction. That pupil size is susceptible to attention, visual illusions, and to the semantic content of images suggests that the subcortical structures that control pupil size receive modulatory signals from higher-level areas21,22.
Here we exploit the pupillary light response to study the spontaneous nature of numerosity perception and show that it scales with perceived numerosity. Pupils constrict more to passively observed white arrays and dilate more to black arrays for more numerous (luminance matched) stimuli, whether perceived numerosity was manipulated by dot number or by exploiting a grouping-based illusion. This suggests an implicit association between numerosity and perceptual strength, which can be read out—objectively and quantitatively—from the pupil.
The connectedness effect
We measured pupil size, while participants passively viewed arrays of dots of different numerosities, real or perceived, leveraging on a strong numerosity illusion. Figure 1A, B show examples of the white versions of the stimuli: the experiments used both dark and bright stimuli, black and white dots and lines on a gray background. Using two versions of the connectedness illusion (panels A and B) helps to dismiss various potential artifacts (discussed later).
Fig. 1: Stimuli.
A Examples of white stimuli used for experiment 1: stimuli comprised either 18 or 24 dots, which were either connected by lines or isolated, with the lines displaced to random positions. The stimuli with black dots were identical. Participants simply maintained gaze on a central fixation point without performing any task, while the stimuli were displayed for 6 s. B Stimuli for experiment 2. The lines in the connected condition are thinner and in the isolated condition they are absorbed into the dots, which become slightly larger (about 40%). See "Methods" for further details. C Fourier amplitude (arbitrary units) of the stimuli of Fig. 1A, as a function of spatial frequency, over the range 0.3–10 cycles per degree. D Same as C, for the stimuli of Fig. 1B. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
The stimuli varied both in physical and perceived numerosity: they comprised either 18 or 24 dots, and in half of the stimuli perceived numerosity was reduced by connecting pairs of dots to form dumbbells, a well-known illusion23,24,25, obvious on inspection of Fig. 1. In the other half, the connecting lines were either displaced to random positions between the dots (experiment 1) or removed entirely (experiment 2). In both experiments, all stimuli had the same total number of white or black pixels, irrespective of numerosity and connectedness, covering 92.7 deg2 for experiment 1 and 82.3 deg2 for experiment 2. The area, defined as convex hull, was 513 deg2 for all stimuli. Figure 1C, D show the Fourier transforms of the stimuli, discussed later.
After completing the first pupillometry experiment (where they were completely naive of the goals of the experiment), participants were asked to judge which of the two sequentially presented arrays appeared to comprise more dots. One was the standard (18 isolated dots), the other the probe (connected or isolated: see "Methods" for experimental details). Figure 2 shows example psychophysical functions for the two experimental conditions (displaced or removed dots) in a typical participant. The median of the functions (0.5 response) yields the point of subjective equality (PSE), the numerosity of the probe that matched the reference. For the displaced-lines condition, the PSE was around 13, 28% less than for measurements with the isolated dots. For the removed-lines condition, the PSE changed a little less, to 14, about 23%. Figure 2B, D show the results averaged over all participants. The average bias in the connected patterns was about 30% for displaced-line stimuli and 22% for removed-line stimuli, similar to that reported by previous studies23,24,25. Given the magnitude of the effect, we would expect the perceived numerosity of a 24 connected-dot pattern to be around 17 in experiment 1 and 19 in experiment 2, similar to that of the unconnected 18-dot pattern.
Fig. 2: Psychophysics results.
A Typical psychometric curves for one participant, measuring the connectedness effect on perceived numerosity for experiment 1. The proportion of trials in which the probe pattern was reported to be more numerous than the standard (which comprised 18 isolated dots) is plotted as a function of the number of dots in the probe pattern. Black and gray lines refer to the connected and isolated conditions, respectively. Arrows indicate the PSE measured in the two conditions. Leftward shifts of the psychometric curve imply underestimation of the test arrays. B Perceptual bias expressed as percentage of PSE difference from the reference numerosity for the two connectedness conditions. Bars represent average across participants (N = 14 participants, individual data reported as black and gray circles for the connected and isolated conditions, respectively), error bars show 1 SEM. C, D Example psychometric curve and average perceptual bias measuring the connectedness effect on perceived numerosity for experiment 2 (N = 13 participants, open circles). Bars represent average across participants and error bars show 1 SEM. The results from the first experiment (A, B) were replicated in the second one (C, D). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
Pupillary light and dark responses
We recorded pupil size while participants passively observed the stimuli of Fig. 1, which were repeatedly displayed for 6 s. Trials with isolated and connected stimuli were intermingled in pseudo-random order within the same session, with separate sessions for different colors and numerosities. We ran two separate experiments, using the two types of isolated controls, with connecting lines displaced to random positions, or removed.
Figure 3A shows the average baseline-corrected pupillary responses for experiment 1 (displaced-lines stimuli), to all stimulus types, both white and black. As expected, the pupil constricted for white-dot stimuli and dilated for black-dot stimuli. The light-evoked constriction was predictably faster than the dark-evoked dilation21, but combining the two (by subtracting the light from the dark response) yielded a strong and sustained luminance response over the 6 s stimulus presentation (Fig. 3B). Importantly, although the total number of pixels (hence luminance) was always the same in all four conditions, the amplitude of the pupil-size modulation clearly varied across conditions.
Fig. 3: Pupil responses to different numerosities and connectedness levels.
A Pupil dilation or constriction in response to black or white stimuli for the displaced-lines condition (experiment 1). Color-coded lines refer to the different numerosity and connectedness levels defined in the legend to C. The gray shaded area on the abscissa between the two vertical dashed lines show time of stimulus presentation. Thick lines plot the time courses of the pupil size averaged across participants (N = 16 participants) and the shaded area around them the SEM. Thin color-matched lines show the average fit obtained by convolving stimulus predictors with the pupil response function (defined by parameters listed in Supplementary Table 1). B Time course of the pupil difference (dark minus light responses) estimating the net pupillary response to luminance. C Average pupil difference in the interval 1–6 s after stimulus onset (the stimulus duration minus the first second, which we excluded to discard the fast and transient pupillary onset response). Dots represent averages across participants (N = 16 participants) and error bars are SEM. D–F Same as A–C, for the removed-lines condition (experiment 2). Open circles represent averages across participants (N = 13 participants) and error bars are SEM. Repeated-measures ANOVAs tested for pupil differences between numerosity and connectedness levels. Significance of main effects and interactions are reported in text. The results from the first experiment (A–C) were replicated in the second one (D–F). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
We used the mean pupil difference (Fig. 3B) over the 1–6 s interval to index the pupil response strength. These values are shown in Fig. 3C (for individual data, see Supplementary Fig. 1). The stimulus with the highest perceived numerosity (24 isolated dots) elicited the strongest response, and that with the lowest perceived numerosity (18 connected dots) elicited the weakest response (paired t-test comparing 24 isolated vs. 18 connected: t(15) = 4.5, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.1, log10BF = 1.9); 18 isolated and 24 connected dots, which had similar apparent numerosity, elicited an intermediate response. Thus, the strength of the pupillary luminance response depended on numerosity, both the physical numerosity and the perceived numerosity of an illusory pattern. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures (two numerosities, two connectedness levels) confirmed that the pupil response was modulated by both factors (main effect of connectedness: F(1,15) = 20.5, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.6, log10BF = 0.8; main effect of numerosity: F(1,15) = 6.2, p = 0.025, ηp2 = 0.3, log10BF = 0.8), which did not interact (F(1,15) = 0.13, p = 0.72, log10BF = −0.5).
Figure 3D, E show the pupillary time courses for experiment 2 (using the alternative form of isolated-dot stimuli, with lines removed), which were similar to those of experiment 1. The responses to bright and dark (Fig. 3D), their difference (Fig. 3E) for the four classes of stimuli, and the average difference over the fixed window (1–6 s, Fig. 3F) were all similar to those above them. Again, the difference in pupillary response was strongest for 24 isolated and weakest for the 18 connected (t(12) = 2.9, p = 0.014, Cohen's d = 0.8, log10BF = 0.6), and intermediate for 24 connected and 18 isolated. Results of the two-way ANOVA for repeated measures were as follows: main effect of connectedness F(1,12) = 6.7, p = 0.024, ηp2 = 0.4, log10BF = 0.5; main effect of numerosity F(1,12) = 2.6, p = 0.13, log10BF = 0; and connectedness by numerosity interaction: F(1,12) = 0.005, p = 0.95, log10BF = −0.5. The reduced effect sizes compared to experiment 1 may be related to the pupillary responses being generally weaker (possibly due to the lower total number of white or dark pixels) and to the illusion being marginally reduced (compare Fig. 2B, D).
Averaging pupil size over a fixed time window (here 1–6 s) is a standard technique of pupillometry. However, it raises the possibility that the results could depend on the length of the time window. We therefore implemented an additional analysis, modeling the pupil time courses, assuming that they resulted from the linear combination of three predictors convolved with the pupil response function26. The pupil response function was estimated for individual participants using their average response time course across conditions (for the parameters of the pupil response function, see Supplementary Table 1). The three predictors were stimulus appearance and disappearance (two impulse-like functions), and time on screen (a boxcar function); their weights represent the strength of the transient onset/offset responses and the sustained pupillary response. Given the estimated pupil response function, we fitted pupil traces from each condition and participant, yielding β-weights representing the contribution of each predictor to the observed pupillary response. Average best fit curves are shown in Fig. 3 (thin lines); their goodness of fit was generally excellent (83% variance explained averaged across participants and experiments, see Supplementary Table 1).
We focused on the sustained response, considering pupil difference traces (difference between black and white stimuli) to estimate the impact of numerosity on the net pupillary response to luminance. β-Weights for the sustained predictor varied across conditions, reinforcing the results obtained by taking the simple mean of the response over the stimulus window (see Supplementary Tables 2 and 3). β-Weights were highest for 24 isolated dots, lowest for 18 connected dots (experiment 1: t(15) = 3.8, p = 0.002, Cohen's d = 0.9, log10BF = 1.4; experiment 2: t(12) = 2.2, p = 0.047, Cohen's d = 0.6, log10BF = 0.2) and intermediate for 18 isolated or 24 connected dots. For displaced-line stimuli (experiment 1): main effect of connectedness F(1,15) = 17.1, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.5, log10BF = 0.5; main effect of numerosity F(1,15) = 3.1, p = 0.09, log10BF = 0.3; connectedness by numerosity interaction: F(1,15) = 0.1, p = 0.79, log10BF = −0.5). For removed-line stimuli (experiment 2): main effect of connectedness F(1,12) = 3.8, p = 0.07, log10BF = 0.2; main effect of numerosity F(1,12) = 2.4, p = 0.15, log10BF = −0.2; connectedness by numerosity interaction: F(1,12) = 0.17, p = 0.69, log10BF = −0.4.
Potential artifacts
Displays with higher perceived numerosity show stronger pupil responses, both dilation to black stimuli and constriction to white stimuli. Thus, any potential artifact that predicts unidirectional pupil changes, constriction or dilation, is unlikely to confound our results.
Although the total number of pixels, and therefore mean luminance, did not vary between conditions in each experiment, the manipulations obviously caused small variations in spatial frequency content, which could have affected the pupillary response21. Figure 1C, D plot the spatial frequency amplitude spectra for the four conditions, separately for the two experiments. Although there are no large differences in amplitude, there are some subtle differences at certain frequencies that could potentially confound the results. However, these small differences are not consistently in the direction needed to explain the effects in both experiments. For example, for experiment 1 (displaced-lines), the amplitude is higher for the isolated conditions, those that elicit stronger pupillary responses. However, the situation reverses for the stimuli of experiment 2 (removed lines), where the amplitude is higher for the connected conditions, associated with a smaller pupillary response. The Fourier amplitude can therefore not explain the results of both experiments, which was a major motivation for using both types of stimulus manipulations.
It is also possible that the eye-movement patterns could have been different for the different classes of stimuli, which would have affected pupillary responses, possibly driving the main effects. We therefore calculated the bivariate confidence interval area for each participant and condition, and analyzed these values with a repeated-measure ANOVA, with connectedness and numerosity levels as factors. None of the main effects or interactions were significant in either of the two pupillometry experiments, suggesting that unstable fixation did not contribute to the results (see Supplementary Information, Supplementary Fig. 2A, B).
A further possible artifact is that stimuli with higher perceived numerosity have higher perceived brightness, which in turn drives the pupillary response, as has been reported for images of the sun and moon19. This seems unlikely, as there are no obvious differences in apparent brightness on inspection of the stimuli of Fig. 1. Nevertheless, we measured perceived brightness in our participants with a forced choice psychophysical technique (see Supplementary Information). The results (Supplementary Fig. 2C) reveal no large, or even significant differences in apparent brightness between the four conditions, excluding the possibility that it is driving the pupillary response.
In this study, we investigated whether pupil size is spontaneously modulated by numerosity, for stimuli of identical luminance. Although participants were not required to judge numerosity, or any other aspect of the stimuli, the magnitude of pupil responses evoked by white or black dots systematically scaled with perceived numerosity: the higher the perceived numerosity, the stronger the pupil response to the stimulus luminance. The pupillary response scaled down when either the physical numerosity was decreased (from 24 to 18) or when the dots were joined by lines to form dumbbells, reducing the perceived numerosity. When the lines joining the dots were displaced or removed, the pupillary response increased. We used two different analyses: quantifying pupil size within a fixed time window (delimited by the stimulus presentation) and fitting the pupil traces on the basis of a physiologically motivated general linear model26. Both analyses produced similar results, with both types of stimuli.
The numerosity-driven pupil-size modulation observed in this experiment could not be explained by luminance differences across the stimuli, as the total number of white or black pixels was always exactly matched across all conditions, of both experiments. Nor could the pupillary response be driven by differences in perceived brightness, as has been reported for images of the sun and moon19. Psychophysical measurements revealed no statistically significant differences in apparent brightness between the four conditions of our experiment. Although we cannot rule out the possibility that numerosity may affect apparent brightness in some very subtle ways, we can conclude that any potential effects were not robust enough to be driving the responses reported here.
The pupillary response was not driven by differences in the Fourier spectrum, as the spectra were very similar over most of the visible range (Fig. 1C, D) and varied in opposite ways for the stimuli of experiments 1 and 2. Other potential artifacts may include differences in mental effort or memory load. Large differences in these factors are unlikely under the passive viewing conditions of the experiment. In any case, neither of these factors (Fourier power or mental effort) could explain the pattern of the data, as they predict a unidirectional pupil size change: constriction or dilation, respectively27,28. This could not account for enhanced constrictor and dilatator pupillary response to light and dark stimuli, suggesting multiplicative scaling of the effective stimulus strength.
The results of our study suggest that patterns perceived as more numerous are spontaneously represented as perceptually stronger and consequently evoke stronger pupillary responses. This fits well with previous evidence suggesting that humans spontaneously encode numerosity. Humans are far more sensitive to numerosity changes than to changes in area or density when asked to identify the odd-one-out of three dots arrays without instructions on the aspect the stimuli may differ29,30. Similarly, numerate adults, children, innumerate adults, and monkeys used numerosity rather than other non-numerical dimensions to classify arrays of dots as "little" or "a lot"31. The current results are also in line with other studies suggesting that numerosity is a salient visual feature that is difficult to ignore32, and can drive automatic oculomotor orientation responses12.
The mechanisms by which perceived numerosity enhances the pupillary response are far from clear. One possibility is that the effect is mediated by attention, given that pupillary responses are known to be enhanced when attention is directed towards stimuli of different luminance15,16. This is certainly feasible, although it is not obvious why participants should spontaneously attend to higher perceived numerosities and maintain attention for the whole 6 s period. Whatever the underlying mechanism, the results show that stimuli of higher perceived numerosity have a higher salience, or stimulus strength, and this is reflected in the gain of the pupillary response.
The pupillary response to luminance is one of the simplest sensory responses. Pupil control is completely involuntary33, with luminance regulation mediated by a simple subcortical circuit that starts from the retina and sends light flux information to the pupillomotor Edinger-Westphal (EW) nuclei of the tectum via the olivary pretectal nucleus (OPN)14. Clearly, the modulation of luminance responses by perceptual and cognitive factors, such as brightness and size illusions, or attention shifts15,16,17,18, implies cortical modulation of this circuit. A recent neurophysiological study in monkeys showed that electrical micro-stimulation of the prefrontal cortex (specifically of the frontal eye field), which is implicated in attentional control, modulated the pupillary light reflex in a spatial- and temporal-specific manner34. This result suggests that the prefrontal cortex may exert control over the mesencephalic pupil light reflex circuit (OPN and EW), either through direct feedback signals or indirectly via relay stations in the occipital cortex and/or in the superior colliculus22. It is well documented that prefrontal and occipito-parietal structures support numerosity processing35,36,37, even in passive viewing paradigms38,39, and there is also evidence that numerosity may be already coded at subcortical levels12,40. Moreover, electroencephalogram and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown that the effect of connectedness on numerosity perception emerges as early as 150 ms after stimulus onset, at the level of V341, and continues in the parietal cortex42. These cortical and subcortical connections could support the spontaneous modulation of the pupillary response to luminance with perceived numerosity.
In conclusion, our results reinforce previous work suggesting that numerosity is a primary visual attribute, which spontaneously modulates one of the more basic sensory responses, the pupil light response. Pupillometry may prove to be an effective tool to study numerical cognition, providing a quantitative and objective index that tracks this perceptual process. The paradigm is simple, requires no specific training, is task free, and responses are recorded automatically without the need for invasive experimenter intervention. These features make it a potential candidate for future studies on populations and species for which psychophysical testing has proved difficult or unfeasible.
Sixteen participants (six males, mean age: 30 ± 3 years) with normal or corrected to normal vision participated in the study. All participants took part to the first pupillometry experiment, 14 of these participated in the numerosity discrimination experiment of Fig. 2, and 13 in the second pupillometry and psychophysics experiment. The research was approved by the local ethics committee (Commissione per l'Etica della Ricerca, University of Florence, n. 111 dated 7 July 2020) and was in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants gave written informed consent prior to the study.
Stimuli and apparatus
For each experiment, 8 types of stimuli were used, illustrated in Fig. 1: 2 numerosities (18 and 24), connected into dumbbell-like shapes or isolated (either by displacing or removing the connecting lines). All stimulus types could be either black or white (maximum and minimum luminances on the screen, about 12.6 and 256 cd/m2), presented on a gray background of 129.3 cd/m2. We ran two separate experiments, with slightly different stimuli and hence different Fourier spectra (Fig. 1), to confront several potential artifacts. In both experiments, all stimuli had the same number of pixels, covering 92.7 deg2 for experiment 1 and 82.3 deg2 for experiment 2. For experiment 1 (Fig. 1A), the connecting lines were displaced to random positions on the screen in the isolated-dot condition: dot diameter, 2.2° for N18, 1.9° for N24; line width, 1.03°; line length 2°–3°. For experiment 2 (Fig. 1B), the connecting lines were removed in the isolated condition and their pixels absorbed into the dots: dot diameter, 2.2° for N18, 1.9° for N24 in connected condition; 2.44°–2.64° (N18) and 2.10°–2.28° (N24) in isolated condition; line width, 0.6°; line length, 1.6°–2.8°.
To match the total number of pixels in the arrays (and hence luminance), as well as the covered area (convex hull), stimuli were precalculated offline through multiple steps. In the first step, the isolated stimuli were created: coordinates were randomly generated for twice the number of the desired dot positions, half for the dots and the other half for the lines, with the constraint that neither dots nor lines could be closer than 0.5°. In a second step, the connected stimuli were created by connecting randomly chosen couples of dots, with line length as detailed above. In the third step, the total number of displayed pixels and the convex hull of the isolated dots was modified to match those of the connected stimuli. For the stimuli of experiment 2, dots were enlarged so that the overall ink of the isolated stimulus matched those of the dumbbells (which contained the connectors). For stimuli of experiment 1, the length of the isolated lines was iteratively adjusted until it matched the total number of pixels of the connected stimuli (which would otherwise contain less pixels due to the over imposition of the lines with the dots at the point of connection between the two). Then the position of the isolated dot pairs was iteratively modified until the convex hull matched that of the connected stimuli (which would otherwise have had higher probability of appearing sparser than the isolated stimuli). The final convex hull was 513 deg2.
Connected and isolated dots were intermixed within a session, whereas arrays of different numerosity or color (white or black) were presented in separate sessions. Order of trials and sessions was varied pseudo-randomly across participants. Each participant performed 4 sessions of 60 trials each. Trials started with a fixation point shown for 1 s, followed by the presentation of one of the numerosity arrays, which remained visible for 6 s. Trials ended 1 s after stimulus disappearance, giving a 2 s interstimulus interval. Importantly, participants were instructed to keep their gaze on the fixation point and simply observe the stimuli, without performing any task.
Measurements were made in a quiet dark room with participants sitting in an experimental booth surrounded by thick black curtains so that the only light source was the stimulus display (Liquid Crystal Display monitor screen, 1280 × 720 pixels, refresh rate 60 Hz). Participants sat at 57 cm from the screen, with head stabilized by chin rest. Pupil diameter was monitored at 500 Hz with an EyeLink 1000 system (SR research) with infrared camera mounted below the screen, recording from the left eye. Before each session, eye position was linearized by a standard nine-point calibration routine. Stimuli were generated and presented under Matlab using Psychtoolbox-3 routines43.
Psychophysics
A subset of participants took part in psychophysical experiments to establish the strength of the illusion (after completing the first set of pupillometry measurements and usually on a different day) and a brightness comparison task as well (see Supplementary Information). For the numerosity measurements, two arrays of dots (test and reference stimuli) were presented sequentially in a randomized order for 500 ms in central fixation and participants judged which was the more numerous. In separate sessions, stimuli were either all black or all white, in analogy with the pupillometry experiment. The test stimulus of experiment 1 comprised isolated dots and lines, of variable numerosity (8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, or 24 dots, with half the number of lines), whereas the test stimulus of experiment 2 comprised only isolated dots, of variable numerosity (spanning from 5 to 12 dots). The reference stimulus (randomly presented first or second) had a fixed number of 18 dots and 9 lines, which could be either isolated or connected for experiment 1, whereas only the connected condition was tested for experiment 2. For each condition (color and connectedness), participants were tested with 3 sessions of 40 trials each. The participant was asked to report whether the first or second array had more dots, by pressing the corresponding key.
Pupillometry data were preprocessed to exclude blinks or signal losses. Specifically, we excluded time points where pupil size was unrealistically small (< 0.1 mm), where pupil size changes where unrealistically large (> 1 mm from the median of the trial), or too quick (any pupil size changes that were faster than 25 mm/s were treated as artifacts and the surrounding 20 ms window were excluded from the analyses). Data points that passed this quality check were down-sampled at 20 Hz and then high-pass filtered by convolving the trace with a 500 ms square window. The resulting pupil size time courses were baseline-corrected by subtracting the average pupil diameter in the 200 ms preceding the stimulus onset. To statistically compare pupil size changes across conditions, we averaged the pupil size over a period of 1–6 s after the stimulus onset, i.e., over the stimulus presentation window excluding the first second (which included the pupil size fast response triggered by the stimulus appearance). These values were analyzed with two-way repeated-measures ANOVA, with numerosity and connectedness level as factors.
We additionally modeled the pupil time courses with a General Linear Model approach, assuming that pupil responses resulted from the linear combination of three predictors (two impulse-like and one boxcar functions, each normalized to its integral) convolved by the pupil response function. The three predictors corresponded to three components known to contribute to pupil size21: a transient pupil modulation at the onset and offset of the stimulus and a sustained response lasting for the entire stimulus presentation time window. It has been proposed that these components are mediated by different mechanisms and have different characteristics: the transient pathway is characterized by poor spatial summation, bandpass temporal response, and high-contrast gain, whereas the sustained pathway exhibits large spatial summation, low-pass temporal response, and low-contrast gain21. The transient predictors (impulse-like functions at stimulus onset and offset) were to capture the grating response, which has previously been reported to be generated by visual transients21,28. The sustained predictor (a boxcar function representing stimulus duration) captures a steady-state luminance response, which is primarily driven by illumination but can be affected by perceptual and cognitive factors44.
The pupil response function was modeled by a Gamma function h(t):
$$h\left(t\right)=\frac{{(\frac{t-\delta }{\tau })}^{(n-1)}{{{{{{\rm{e}}}}}}}^{-(\frac{t-\delta }{\tau })}}{\tau \left(n-1\right)!}$$
where n was the number of filters, \(\tau\) the change rate, and \(\delta\) the delay in pupil response after stimulus onset. For each participant we found the best-fitting parameters n, \(\tau\), and \(\delta\) (each constrained in an appropriate interval: from 1 to 8, 10 to 800, and 0 to 200, respectively, see Supplementary Table 1). Once we defined the pupil response function that best fitted the average pupil trace across conditions, we estimated the β-weights for each condition separately and computed the goodness of fit of each of them. We then statistically compared the β-weights across conditions by entering them in two-way repeated-measure ANOVA with numerosity and connectedness level as factors.
To analyze the results of the numerosity discrimination task, for each condition (black or white arrays, connected or isolated), the responses were plotted as function of the probe numerosity and fitted with a cumulative Gaussian distribution, whose median defines the PSE (see Fig. 2C). We then computed bias index as:
$${{{{{\mathrm{Bias}}}}}}=100* \left(\frac{{{{{\mathrm{PSE}}}}}}{N}-1\right)$$
Statistical tests (ANOVA, t-tests, and Bayesian analyses) were conducted with Matlab or Jasp 0.14.145. For Bayesian ANOVA, models including the connectedness and numerosity factors, both these factors, and both factors plus the interaction were ordered by their predictive performance relative to the best model. The reported Bayes factors correspond to inclusion Bayes factors resulting from the analysis of the effects across all matched models46. Bayes factors are reported in logarithmic base 10 units (log10BF) and their absolute values should be interpreted as providing anecdotal (0–0.5), substantial (0.5–1), strong (1–1.5), or very strong (>1.5) evidence, in favor of the alternative hypothesis if positive or the null hypothesis if negative.
Reporting summary
Further information on research design is available in the Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article.
Data are available at Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5168707)47. Source data are provided with this paper.
Codes and scripts will be provided upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.
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This research has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie (grant agreement number 885672–DYSC-EYE-7T "The neural substrate of numerical cognition in dyscalculia revealed by eye tracking and ultra-high field 7T functional magnetic imaging") and from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programs (grant agreement number 801715–PUPILTRAITS and number 832813–GenPercept).
Department of Translational Research and New technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Elisa Castaldi & Paola Binda
Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Elisa Castaldi, Antonella Pomè & David Burr
Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy
Guido Marco Cicchini
School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
David Burr
Elisa Castaldi
Antonella Pomè
Paola Binda
All authors contributed to the study concept and to the design. Stimuli were designed by G.M.C., E.C., and A.P. Testing and data collection were performed by E.C. and A.P. E.C., A.P., and P.B. performed the data analysis. All authors contributed to the interpretation of results. E.C. drafted the manuscript, and D.B. and P.B. provided critical revisions. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
Correspondence to David Burr.
Peer review information Nature Communications thanks Bruno Laeng and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available.
Peer Review File
Castaldi, E., Pomè, A., Cicchini, G.M. et al. The pupil responds spontaneously to perceived numerosity. Nat Commun 12, 5944 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26261-4
Incentive motivation improves numerosity discrimination in children and adolescents
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Symmetry as a grouping cue for numerosity perception
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June 21, 2017 at 2:50 pm EST | by Michael K. Lavers
Danica Roem: Campaign is 'not based on my gender'
Danica Roem canvasses in the Sudley area of Manassas in Prince William County, Va., on June 20. Roem will face state Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William County) in November. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
MANASSAS, Va. — Danica Roem was canvassing in the Sudley section of Manassas in Prince William County on Tuesday afternoon when Natalie Fort parked in front of the townhouse in which she lives with her older sister.
Fort told Roem that reducing congestion along Route 28 is among her top issues going into November's general election. Fort, who is a high school Latin teacher in Fauquier County, also said "protecting our LGBTQ students" is also among "the most important issues."
"That's near and dear to my heart because I'm gay myself," she told Roem.
Roem spoke with Fort a week after she defeated Brentsville Magisterial District Democratic Committee Chair Mansimran Kahlon, Steven Jansen and Andrew Adams in the Democratic primary for the 13th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. Roem will face off against state Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William County) in November.
"I expect to win," Roem told the Washington Blade on Tuesday during an interview at a Manassas restaurant.
Reducing Route 28 congestion among top campaign issues
Roem was born and raised in the 13th District, which includes Gainesville and Manassas Park. She lives in the Manassas section of Prince William County.
Roem was a reporter for the Gainesville Times from 2006-2015. She has also worked for the Prince William Times, the National Journal and the Montgomery County (Md.) Sentinel.
Roem throughout the interview repeatedly highlighted transportation, economic development and education are her main issues. She said improving Route 28 in order to reduce traffic congestion, extending the Virginia Railway Express commuter trains to Innovation Technology Park as a way to bolster the area's high-tech industry and increasing teacher salaries in Prince William County would be among her top legislative priorities in the Virginia House of Delegates if she were to defeat Marshall.
"I have proven myself as someone who has a command over facts, a command over public policy, who has a thorough understanding of detail that goes into land use, that goes into transportation, that goes into economic development, that goes into education, that goes into health care," Roem told the Blade. "When you run for delegate, you have to know a lot about a lot. You can't just have an inch thick, mile long knowledge."
Roem is the first openly transgender nominee for public office in Virginia. She would also make history as the first out trans person seated in any state legislature if she were to succeed Marshall.
Roem described herself as "unabashedly pro-equality and anti-discrimination," noting one of her campaign volunteers is a 14-year-old trans teenager.
Roem has testified in support of a proposal that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Prince William County School District's nondiscrimination policy. She has also sharply criticized President Trump's decision earlier this year to rescind guidance on how public schools should accommodate trans students.
"That's not okay," Roem told the Blade.
Roem acknowledged her campaign has gained national attention because people "see someone who can inspire them and someone who champions the things they believe in." She also noted to the Blade she is not challenging Marshall simply because she is trans.
"My credentials for this office are not based on my gender," said Roem.
Marshall co-wrote Va. marriage amendment, introduced bathroom bill
Marshall has represented the 13th District since 1992. He remains among the most vocal opponents of LGBT rights in the Virginia General Assembly.
Marshall co-wrote Virginia's constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. He also supported the late Prince William County Circuit Clerk Michèle McQuigg, who was a defendant in a federal lawsuit that challenged the same-sex marriage ban.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 6, 2014, announced it had declined to accept the case. Gays and lesbians have been able to legally marry in Virginia since that day.
Marshall in 2016 introduced House Bill 385, which would have prevented municipalities from enacting anti-LGBT discrimination measures. Marshall earlier this year introduced House Bill 1612, which would have prohibited trans people from using public bathrooms based on their gender identity.
Members of the Republican-controlled House General Laws Subcommittee killed HB 1612 by a voice vote. HB 385 also failed to get out of committee.
"We deal with the same issues, which makes me wonder why his legislative priorities are more concerned with where I go to the bathroom than improving how his constituents get to work," Roem told the Blade, noting she lives roughly two miles away from Marshall. "You would figure that someone who lives that close to Route 28 would be focused like a laser on it."
Equality Virginia PAC, Northam among Roem supporters
Equality Virginia's Political Action Committee, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the Trans United Fund, EMILY's List and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee are among the organizations that have endorsed Roem. Lieutenant Gov. Ralph Northam, who is running against former Republican National Committee Chair Ed Gillespie to succeed Gov. Terry McAuliffe, also supports her candidacy.
"Danica's campaign embodies the values we'd like to see more of in Richmond: Courage, tolerance and equality," Northam told the Blade on Tuesday. "That's why her candidacy is resonating so powerfully among voters. She has my full support and I'm looking forward to continue partnering with her to take our majority back in the House."
Catherine Read, who is a member of the Equality Virginia PAC's board of directors, described Roem to the Blade as "a young, dynamic, qualified and visionary candidate ready to represent the people of the" 13th District.
"Manassas is her hometown," said Read. "She understands both the challenges and the opportunities the future holds for her constituents."
"Danica represents the future of Virginia on many different levels," she added.
Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills on Wednesday described Roem's victory in last week's primary as "a rejection of the anti-trans rhetoric and policies we are witnessing in state legislatures all across the country."
"Both Danica and her constituents are focused on local issues," Moodie-Mills told the Blade. "She won because she knocked on more doors, connected with voters and ran a smart campaign as an out trans woman."
"But the symbolism of this race cannot be missed, and our community must rally behind Danica to defeat 'Bigot Bob' and ensure she becomes the only out trans state legislator in the country," she added.
Equality Virginia PAC Executive Director James Parrish, like Moodie-Mills, noted the historic nature of Roem's candidacy. He also described Roem as a candidate who "provides a viable option for the residents of Prince William County."
"She not only counters the hateful rhetoric of her opponent but her knowledge of local issues and steadfast devotion to her neighbors prove that Danica is the right choice for District 13," Parrish told the Blade on Wednesday. "We know that representation matters and believe that Danica is just the beginning; her candidacy will open the doors to electing more transgender individuals in Virginia and beyond."
Fort told the Blade after she spoke with Roem on Tuesday that Marshall's anti-LGBT record is "already kind of a strikeout for me." She added Roem's gender identity did not factor into her decision to support her.
"I'm not voting exclusively for her for the sake that she is transgender," said Fort.
Danica Roem, left, speaks with Natalie Fort outside of her home in the Sudley area of Manassas in Prince William County, Va., on June 20, 2017. Roem will face state Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William County) in November.
(Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
13th DistrictAisha C. Moodie-MillsAndrew AdamsBob MarshallCatherine ReadDanica RoemEMILY's ListEquality VirginiaEquality Virginia Political Action CommitteeGay and Lesbian Victory FundJames ParrishMansimran KahlonProgressive Change Campaign CommitteeRalph NorthamSteven JansenTrans United FundtransgenderVirginia
Michael K. Lavers is the international news editor of the Washington Blade. Follow Michael
Catherine Read
June 21, 2017 at 4:07 pm EST at 4:07 pm
What a wonderful profile of a great candidate running for Virginia's House of Delegates. We have a RECORD number of women running this year. Danica will be an asset to our legislature.
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This must-attend conference will address the past, present and future of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, emphasizing the need for education, reform and implementation of the Act. Tribal leaders, tribal members and professionals in the legal field will benefit from this comprehensive conference.
Learn more at the Mesa Grand Band of Mission Indians website.


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Local train Search
While they don't expect to be called out to every search and rescue mission in the state, the Star 1 Search and Rescue team is ready.
Throughout the year, volunteers on the team participate in trainings and drills in state parks across the state as a way to train and become certified to help an official search and rescue missions should the opportunity arise.
The organization originally formed 21 years ago after one mission was unorganized.
"They realized there's got to be a better way to manage and run, and actually do searches, " said Ken Frame, former president of the group.
The group was founded by Jim Peters, a former paramedic at Mary Greeley Medical Center, Jim Merrill, a former Ames firefighter, and Lori Morrissey, the former Story County Emergency Manager. The search team, currently made up of roughly 35 members, can now be deployed on both local and statewide missions through the Story County Emergency Management Agency.
The group holds monthly trainings and meetings throughout the year at various locations across the state. On Saturday, the team met at McFarland Park to perform their annual ice rescue training. Frame said the group uses certified equipment from the National Association for Search and Rescue, and volunteers also provide some of their own gear.
"Most of what we do is around search work today, so we try to practice different search scenarios and get everyone familiar with the different parts of search and rescue, " Frame said.
Rick Dietz, current president of the group, said searches can include different scenarios based on the missing person's age and background, so volunteers are trained to become familiar with those differences. For instance if the person was hiking or hunting, they may be in different areas than a missing child.
"There's a lot of data on missing cases where depending on age and activity they were doing, there's different scenarios or predictions. You can kind of predict what these sorts of people might do, " he said.
Frame said the group does not always get called out to every mission, but members have participated in recent missions like the Dayton and Evansdale child abduction searches.
During Saturday's training, the team also celebrated their 21-year anniversary, which included an award ceremony for recognized volunteers and special awards given to the three founding members. Frame, who officially ended his term as president of the group at the event, said the last 21 years of service has been a way for the volunteers to provide a service Iowa was missing.
"We've got 21 years of search experience. We know what needs to be done to train people, get them certified, so there's a level of understanding how searches work and what needs to take place, " he said. "Right now, there's no other agency in the state that trains in what we train in."
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Remember the "World Wide Web" before search engines? Less than two decades ago, you had to know exactly what you were looking for and where it was located in order to access information. There was no Google—no search engine that would find the needle in the haystack for you. Curated directories of URLs were a start, but very quickly failed to keep up with the explosion in growth of the Web. Now our expectation is that we will be led down the path of discovery by simply entering what's on our mind into a search box. Ill-formed, half-baked questions quickly crystalize into a line of intelligent inquiry. Technology assists us by bringing the experience of others right to our screens.
Like the Internet, EHRs are a much-needed Web of information whose time has come. For a long time, experts preached the need to migrate from a paper-based documentation systems – aka old school charts—to electronic records. Hats off to the innovators and the federal government who've made this migration a reality. We've officially arrived: the age of electronic records is here. A recent report in Health Affairs showed that 58.9% of hospital have now adopted either a basic or comprehensive EHR—this is a four-fold increase since 2010 and the number of adoptions is still growing. So, EHRs are here to stay. Now, we're now left to answer the question of what's next? How can we make this data usable in a timely, efficient way?


Oneohtrix Point Never is the recording name of composer/producer Daniel Lopatin. He is known for creating intricate electronic music that is characterized by its emphasis on melody and hypnotic pacing, conceptually stylized structures and extreme use of audio processing techniques. Early incarnations of OPN date back to the mid 2000s and drew heavily on the stylistic forms of cutout bin ambient and new age records, combined with the structure and abrasiveness of noise music.
Hinter Oneohtrix Point Never steckt der aus Brooklyn-stammende Komponist und Produzent Daniel Lopatin. Er ist bekannt für seine elektronischen Klänge, die einen Ausflug in abenteuerliche musikalische Sphären versprechen. 2013 machte Oneohtrix Point Never sein Warp Debüt mit dem Album R Plus Seven. Inspiriert wurde er durch Synth-Sounds des Mahavishnu Orchesters, der Plattensammlung seines Vaters sowie klassischen Videospiel-Soundtracks wie Metroid.


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Luscious Jackson
by Tina Plottel November 8th, 1996 August 29th, 2020
S A T U R D A Y
Luscious Jackson's third outing, Fever In Fever Out, just might be the hit these girls deserve. The Daniel Lanois-produced disc is slicker than Natural Ingredients and In Search of Manny, but possesses a deliberate simplicity most likely due to Jill Cunniff and Vivian Tremble's time in their acoustic band, Kostars. And since the record is the latest from Grand Royal, it receives the support of the Beastie Boys' extended family: Mike Diamond is listed as a label contact, and a photo credit is given to Adam Horovitz's brother Matthew. LJ splits the bill with new British sensation Kula Shaker, the Josephine Wiggs Experience, the latest in Breeders side projects, and medieval punk cellists Rasputina, who open at 7:30 p.m. at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $9.91. (202) 393-0930. (Tina Plottel)


Local refugee communities may not be widely visible to the larger population in some areas, but there are a number of ways to effectively establish connections among these groups in your community.
Contacting local organizations designated to assist refugees is a good first step, especially for those who are unfamiliar with their area's refugee populations. These organizations can offer more insight about local communities and community-specific issues as well as provide connections to refugees.
Examples include refugee resettlement organizations and entities that serve refugee groups on local or national levels. Resettlement organizations are entities that help newly arrived refugees get settled into their community; you can find resources and contacts in your state through this Office of Refugee Resettlement resource.
One example of a State Department-designated resettlement agency is International Rescue Committee, which has 28 locations in America. Larger organizations like IRC can provide context about statewide resettlement and population trends. Local organizations, which may vary widely based on the communities they serve, are another helpful resource for learning more about refugee community issues and events in the vicinity.
Many of the interviewees for this study stressed the significance of making a sincere, intentional effort in getting to know these communities and organizations. Solís said these things are important in order to build trust with sources. "I try to spend time getting to know those at resettlement agencies and at schools so I can win trust about my sincere desire to tell their stories with authenticity from the inside out," she said. Another way to make intentional connections is by attending community events like community meetings or celebrations, even if you're not on assignment.
It's also important, reporters told us, to take phone calls, respond to emails and listen to the communities — again, even if there might not be an immediate story to get from these interactions. As with any other group, making the time and effort in sincerely getting to know refugees is key.


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The longest wait in the urban struggle for land
Nordis October 28, 2012 Baguio City, Featured, land rights
"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." — Aldo Leopold
Land, is so important for everybody. People from the mountain communities see the land as their mother who unselfishly provides all their needs. Settlers in the cities and urban areas look at it as part of the struggle for survival in a society where money and power is in the hands of the few elite.
People who go to the urban areas hoping for a better life leave their villages behind to escape problems such as militarization, development aggression and government neglect only to arrive and settle on empty lands thought to be either idle or abandoned. They are to be called squatters or illegal dwellers by the government. As if to lighten the discriminatory label or to be "politically correct" some call them informal settlers. For the indigenous people of the Cordillera, they maximize the use of the land.
They spend sleepless nights as the dangers of demolition threaten them. From years of developing these idle lands, they would discover that some rich people have titles over the lots where they built their homes.
For years, these informal settlers fought for the freedom to own these lands they had nurtured. They soon came to compose a battle cry "land to the actual occupants". Of course, they respect the original owners and those who have ancestral claims, what they do not understand is why are many of the so-called claimants who claim to have titles are from the National Capital Region or other foreign lands.
This is the case of the people of San Carlos Heights of Barangay Irisan in Baguio City.
Start of the long road
It was on August 7, 1992 when the residents filed a petition with the office of the Solicitor General for the revival of an investigation of the then created 1986 special task force committee for a possible filing of a Reversion Proceedings case by the Solicitor General (Sol Gen). The said case was in pursuant to Section 101 of the Commonwealth Act No.141 against the Original Certificate of Title (OCT) Nos. 0-97; 0-13; 0-67; 0-09; 0-47 and 0-108 due to fraud and misrepresentation attendant to the issuance of said titles by the Regional Trial Court (RTC), acting as Land Registration Court.
The Land Management Bureau (LMB) then required the petitioners to submit within 39 days sworn statements of at least two disinterested persons who have personal knowledge on the land issue in San Carlos Heights. The petitioners complied with the order and filed a formal petition on November 11, 1992 alleging that they are the rightful owners of the land under OCTs 0-47 and 0-108 which were allegedly fraudulently issued through a judicial proceedings in a reopening Civil Residential Case No. 1 GLRD Record No. 211.
Then LMB Director Abelardo Palad formed a committee composed of lawyers and special land investigators to continue the investigation on the veracity of the allegation in the petition on the said OCTs which were named under Celin Sobli, et al', and Joseph Gabol, et al respectively and its offshoot titles. The committee formally conducted hearings from January 19 to June 16, 1993.
On June 22, 1993, the counsel of the petitioners submitted formal offer of evidence. The case slept for the next four years.
Reviving the case amid demolition threats
On October 16, 1997, the case was submitted to the Regional Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Cordillera Administrative Region (DENR-CAR) for proper action by the Land Management Services.
DENR-CAR issued an order setting the case for a preliminary conference on February 24, 1998. Series of proceedings and exchanges of formal offer of evidences and motions followed. Uneasiness and worry deeply affected the petitioners as they continually received questionable demolition orders from the city government.
Through the years, the residents single clamor was for the proper resolution of this case. And that whether or not OCT 0-47 and 0-108 were fraudulently issued; whether or not the RTC, acting as Land Registration Court acted without and in excess of jurisdiction and whether or not there is valid reason to cause the cancellation of said OCT and its derivative titles be clarrified. The case was endorsed to the Sol Gen on May 31, 1998 to carry out proceedings for the cancellation.
On June 14, 2000, the Sol Gen filed a civil case numbered 4735-R at the RTC Branch 3 for annulment of Title and Reversion against Erlinda Villanueva and Jaime Villanueva, Realty Development Corporation (RDC), Corazon S. Castro, Ricardo Enriquez, Teresita Galacgac, Nicolas Zarate, Remedios Zarate Carolino, Luzviminda Anuran, Conrado Nano, Evelyn Sapuay and the Registry of Deeds (ROD) of Baguio City.
In the case filed, the Sol Gen stated the defendants have the competence to be sued and be served summons and other proceedings. The ROD of Baguio is impleaded as a nominal party and may be served summons. The Sol Gen in its prayer said that the OCTs 0-47 and 0-108 be declared null and void basing it in a memorandum report on the findings of the National Mapping and Information Authority (NAMRIA) signed by then administrator Liberato A. Manuel.
The report stated "the parcels of land covered by OCT 0-47 and 0-108 fall within the public forest of Baguio City based on map No. LC-1024 which was then certified on July 31, 1933 and in addition, the same areas fall inside the proposed Baguio Forest Reserve per Map No. FR-142 in their file.
The Sol Gen commented that OCT 0-108 was originally registered in the Baguio ROD on February 11, 1965 pursuant to decree No. 1024002 issued in LRC Civil Reservation Case No. 1, record 211 and on the otherhand, 0-47 was registered on October 11, 1960 pursuant to Decree No. N-80102. The Sol Gen said that it is clear that the parcels of land in question were part of the forest zone at the time subject titles were issued.
The prayer furthered the court to order the aforesaid defendants to surrender their respective "owners' duplicate copies of title to the Baguio ROD and direct the latter to cancel the same as well as the originals. The Sol Gen also prayed the RTC to decree the reversion of the parcels of land covered by the said titles to the State for appropriate disposition in accordance with law and direct all defendats or any other person claiming under them to desist from exercising acts of ownership or possesion over the disputed parcels of land.
Years passed by and countless hearings and proceedings over the case were done and the residents waited for slow developments. The petitioners attended the last hearing for the 2005 on December 21 with all hopes of having a meaningful gift for the yuletide season that time. RTC Branch 3 of the First Judicial Region Judge Fernando Pamintuan ordered the counsels of the petitioners and the defendants to submit and present formal offer of evidences and no hearings will be required as it will depend on each presentation of evidence.
The cancellation
In a 21-page decision of Judge Pamintuan dated September 5, 2006, the two OCTs were declared null and void saying they were acquired fraudulently. The court then ordered the Baguio ROD to cancel the titles issued that originated from the OCTs as the subject lands are classified as forest lands.
Ninety-four Transfer of Certificates of Title (TCT) which were created under the two OCTs were also declared void. The titles cover Puroks 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 of San Carlos Heights.
That time, the affected residents organized under Lobinder treated the decision as an initial victory in acquiring the land they are occupying. This also served as a temporary relief from the threats of losing their homes and a shield from the dangers of demolition mysteriously being approved by the city officials favoring the rich so-called claimants.
Meanwhile, the defendants argued that they were "innocent purchasers" and protected by the Torrens system. This is a land registration system in which the government is the keeper of all land and title records, and a land title serves as a certificate of full, indefeasible, and valid ownership (businessdictionary.com).
According to Pamintuan, the defense of being an innocent purchaser for value of the defendants can not be sustained by the Court for the simple reason that their original root title was already defective. He also emphasized that the Torrens titles could not be used as a shield for fraud.
Not surrendering to the court decision, the defendants filed an appeal raising some issues of error by the court.
On August 15, 2012, the Court of Appeals (CA) in Manila declared the appeal as not meritorius because the RTC did not err in ruling that OCTs 0-47 and 0-108 as well as all subsequent titles derived thereto are canceled and that the subject lands be reverted to the State. They will remain as forest lands. The decision of Judge Pamintuan was affirmed.
Again this is another victory for the residents. First step perhaps in acquiring the land they occupied for decades. Another struggle is about to begin if ever the defendants will not bring the case to the Supreme Court, that is the long process of dealing with the government to award the lands to them.
Technical descriptions and legal terms are hard to understand. But the proceedings of the case let the residents know the roads and ways of the law on lands.
People's movements born out of the land struggle
From the years of waiting and haggling, many organizations were formed among the ranks of San Carlos Heights residents. They organized themselves with hopes that from their collective actions will bear fruitful results. Some individuals however claiming that they had better ideas tried to be popular among the residents and even tried to take advantage of the problematic situation. That is a product of "money talks" system. Some claiming to be leaders also tried to insist that they can offer a better option.
From these organizations, the original concept of "land to the actual occupants" prevails. Lessons have yet to be drawn and documented so that others may learn from the rich experience of an urban people in their struggle for a piece of residential land. # nordis.net
« « Ti Sin Tax ken ti industriya ti tabako | No single solution to Baguio's garbage problem » »
2 Responses to "The longest wait in the urban struggle for land"
mariano mendez says:
How true is your report that Ancestral Lands especially in Mindanao were not yet approved by higher authorities as Civil Reservation (please refer to Land Classification Division of National Mapping and Resource Information Authority) .In Baguio City we have dozens of Presidential Proclamations covering the areas so with Quezon City,still a Public Land.That is why Land Syndicates/Speculators trives(example a piece of land with an area of 120 sq.meters can be subdivided into several lots with total area of 120 hectares;lots owned by a certain individual located around MetroManila like M).That's why the Register of Deeds in Quezon City Hall was burned in 1998,quite unusual that night before,a group of men about hundreds were seen assembling inside the Quezon Memorial Park,they were like farmers or peasants.This date Land Classification Map of Quezon City has not been revised nor approved by the DENR.
Let me introduce myself:Yours truly is a retired Cartographic Engineer (Engineer II) of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority specilized in cartography/mapping,land classification verifier,photogrametry and partly research works.I have prepared several Land Classification Maps, Control Maps and other special maps.Often times send as witness to testify in behalf of our agency the NAMRIA on its findings involving status of a land,whether it is situated in Alienable or Disposable/Forestland/Unclassified areas. Special case are reclaimed areas and under Presidential Proclamations,such areas in Baguio City and Quezon City.(Information)


We have a dangerous habit of trying to outdo ourselves... and this time, we're going MEGA!
On April 13, Citizen Science Day, we are aiming to gather thousands of people across the US to analyze an entire dataset that answers a single question about Alzheimers disease in just one hour! That's right, something that would take scientists in the lab an entire year if they worked alone.
Together with our friends - SciStarter - we invite public libraries, schools, senior living centers and each and every one of you to join this record-breaking effort, and get one step closer to understanding and curing Alzheimer's.
Register on megathon.us if you haven't yet.
If you're an existing catcher, you don't have to sign up to participate, but we encourage it!
You will get all the Megathon info & materials delivered to your inbox. Use them to set up and prepare for the event.
Be there - at your library, local pub or on your favorite armchair - on April 13, 1:30 to 3:30 PM EST (timezone converter here), and help us make a dent Alzheimer's research!
Feel free to email us at any time if you have questions or need any kind of support, and check out the frequently asked questions below!
Q. How can I host a Megathon meetup for my community?
A. You will find all the answers in the step-by-step guide for meetup hosts. If you're a librarian, you will find all the guidance you need here.
Q. Can I participate from the comfort of my home?
A. Yes, although we encourage you to invite friends and family to join you...host your own mini-megathon if you don't find an event near you.
Q. How much internet bandwidth will I need to host a Megathon?
A: Stall Catchers requires between 0.25 and 0.5 mbps download bandwidth per user (about 1/10 the bandwidth of streaming a Youtube video). Upload bandwidth is negligible. Typical download speeds for home accounts is between 50 and 100 mbps, so a typical home account could accommodate approximately between 100 and 400 players. That's a big house! However, it is recommended that any meetups intending to participate in the Megathon test their WiFi network with real users playing Stall Catchers.
Q. Is there an alternative option to engage patrons in the Megathon without everyone participating on a separate device?
A. Not everyone will feel comfortable or be able to get online, get trained, and participate in Stall Catchers. An alternative would be to have the host login to Stall Catchers and show the game on a big screen. Then ask people in the room to vote for flowing or stalled. See this segment of The Crowd & The Cloud PBS special to see an example of how it was done at Hawthorne retirement community.
Q. Can new people just show up, create their Stall Catchers/SciStarter account and jump right in?
A. It's not advised but it is possible. The first half hour of the event is designed to help people sign up for Stall Catchers and SciStarter, learn how to do Stall Catchers, form teams, and THEN jump in!
Q. We don't have laptops for the public in our library and only a limited number of public PCs are available. Should/ could I ask people to bring in their own laptops to participate?
A. Yes, participants could bring their own laptops. But they can also play on tablets and smartphones (stallcatchers.com on any browser) and via the Android app. Some people find that a mobile device is their favorite method, but others prefer a laptop and a bigger screen! You could suggest both ways to participate in your invitations (e.g., "Bring your laptop or your mobile device").
Q. For testing the Stall Catchers website between now and the event, is it possible to create multiple TEST accounts of some sort?
You can also reach out to us at info@eyesonalz.com and we will create test accounts for you.
Q. We are inviting people to join the Megathon from citizen science projects, schools, memory centers, research centers, senior center and service clubs--are there other potential stakeholders we should invite?
A. Yes...once you add your event to SciStarter (https://scistarter.org/add-event ), you can use the People Finder to easily invite anyone from the SciStarter community within a few miles of your event! consider inviting people to help facilitate your event. SciStarter can help match you with volunteer-organizations, such as Master Naturalists, where members may be looking for opportunities to fulfill volunteer hours. SciStarter will provide training for facilitators. Email CarolineN@SciStarter.com if you have or need a facilitator.
Q. How can we measure our local contribution to the Stall Catchers/Megathon project, and what's a reasonable goal (per ten attendees)?
A. Each local meetup will have a team on Stall Catchers. Detailed statistics are available on each team's "team page" - and that shows things like total number of annotations, number of research vessels annotated, and so on. We will also add a new statistic, which is "lab-equivalent research time" that shows how long it would have taken an laboratory expert to analyze the same amount of data that your team analyzed. Typically a lab expert can analyze data ten times faster than a Stall Catchers player, so if you had 20 people on your team, your team might accomplish two hours worth of laboratory work during the one-hour Megathon. The size of the team and skill level of players will have a bearing on this. We are also considering creating a team goal that assigns a fair share of the data to each team based on its size. The idea is that a 20 person team would be assigned twice as much data to analyze as a 10 person team, and if each team meets its goal, then the entire dataset will be analyzed by the end of the challenge. So this metric would be a percent of team data analyzed, and if you have a hard-working or fast-working team, you could actually exceed 100%, which means you are an overachieving team and are doing extra work that helps a team that might not be able to analyze as quickly (for example, due to bandwidth issues). In any case, we will aim to make goals attainable and prepare everyone for success. And at the end, we will have a preliminary research results that is based on the collective effort of everyone who participates in the Megathon!
Q. Do you have any suggestions about programs to supplement the Megathon for Citizen Science Day (e.g. would a dementia simulation be a synergistic program, are there any videos you would recommend to introduce citizen science or Alzheimer's, types of experts to invite for discussion, science-themed snack ideas, etc.)?
A. Yes! We're developing some "Programs in a Box" about citizen science and Alzheimer's Disease. These will include powerpoints, posters, activity ideas, and more to help librarians introduce topics and provide resources for patrons interested in these topics. We also recommend inviting local experts or community members to speak.
Q. What's the ratio of volunteers to participants that we should have for the Megathon?
A. For a small group (less than 20 people), a single volunteer would likely be sufficient. For a larger group (more than 20 people), it would be helpful to have a second volunteer to walk around the room and help people get started or provided assistance if anyone gets stuck. Anyone who has played Stall Catchers before (for example, during a test or dry run meetup) could assist.
Q. Do people need to sign up for a SciStarter account, a Stall Catchers account, and a Megathon account?
A. If you sign up on megathon.us you will be registered on both Stall Catchers and SciStarter simultaneously and the two accounts will be linked. This is the recommended option. If you are already have an account on SciStarter or Stall Catchers, go ahead and register at megathon.us then email megathon@eyesonalz.com to link the accounts.
Thursday Night League #2 -- Results!


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