Emotional engagements predict and enhance social cognition in young chimpanzees

Social cognition in infancy is evident in coordinated triadic engagements, that is, infants attending jointly with social partners and objects. Current evolutionary theories of primate social cognition tend to highlight species differences in cognition based on human-unique cooperative motives. We consider a developmental model in which engagement experiences produce differential outcomes. We conducted a 10-year-long study in which two groups of laboratory-raised chimpanzee infants were given quantifiably different engagement experiences. Joint attention, cooperativeness, affect, and different levels of cognition were measured in 5- to 12-month-old chimpanzees, and compared to outcomes derived from a normative human database. We found that joint attention skills significantly improved across development for all infants, but by 12 months, the humans significantly surpassed the chimpanzees. We found that cooperativeness was stable in the humans, but by 12 months, the chimpanzee group given enriched engagement experiences significantly surpassed the humans. Past engagement experiences and concurrent affect were significant unique predictors of both joint attention and cooperativeness in 5- to 12-month-old chimpanzees. When engagement experiences and concurrent affect were statistically controlled, joint attention and cooperation were not associated. We explain differential social cognition outcomes in terms of the significant influences of previous engagement experiences and affect, in addition to cognition. Our study highlights developmental processes that underpin the emergence of social cognition in support of evolutionary continuity

Magnetic and electrical properties of (Pu,Lu)Pd3

We present measurements of the magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity and electrical resistivity of Pu$_{1-x}$Lu$_x$Pd$_3$, with $x$=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1. PuPd$_3$ is an antiferromagnetic heavy fermion compound with $T_N=24$~K. With increasing Lu doping, both the Kondo and RKKY interaction strengths fall, as judged by the Sommerfeld coefficient $\gamma$ and N\'eel temperature $T_N$. Fits to a crystal field model of the resistivity also support these conclusions. The paramagnetic effective moment $\mu_{\mathrm{eff}}$ increases with Lu dilution, indicating a decrease in the Kondo screening. In the highly dilute limit, $\mu_{\mathrm{eff}}$ approaches the value predicted by intermediate coupling calculations. In conjunction with an observed Schottky peak at $\sim$60~K in the magnetic heat capacity, corresponding to a crystal field splitting of $\sim$12~meV, a mean-field intermediate coupling model with nearest neighbour interactions has been developed.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure

Nonpolar resistive switching in Cu/SiC/Au non-volatile resistive memory devices

Amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) based resistive memory (RM) Cu/a-SiC/Au devices were fabricated and their resistive switching characteristics investigated. All four possible modes of nonpolar resistive switching were achieved with ON/OFF ratio in the range 10 6-10 8. Detailed current-voltage I-V characteristics analysis suggests that the conduction mechanism in low resistance state is due to the formation of metallic filaments. Schottky emission is proven to be the dominant conduction mechanism in high resistance state which results from the Schottky contacts between the metal electrodes and SiC. ON/OFF ratios exceeding 10 7 over 10 years were also predicted from state retention characterizations. These results suggest promising application potentials for Cu/a-SiC/Au RM

Oxygen isotope/salinity relationship in the Northern Indian Ocean

International audienceWe analyze the surface •5•80-salinity relationships of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, in the northern Indian Ocean, known for their contrasting hydrological conditions. New measurements of these tracers show a very low •5•80-salinity slope associated with the strong dilution in the Bay of Bengal, but a slope more typical of this latitude in the Arabian Sea. Although this region is marked by a complex monsoonal regime, numerical modeling using a box model and a general circulation model is able to capture the •5•SO-salinity slope and its geographical variation. Both models clearly show that the low •5•SO-salinity slope is due to the evaporation-minus-precipitation balance, with an important contribution of the continental runoff in the Bay of Bengal. Although the low value of these slopes (-0.25) makes past salinity reconstructions uncertain, insight into the Last Glacial Maximum conditions shows a probable stability of these slopes and limited error on paleosalinity

HOPE: Help fOr People with money, employment, benefit or housing problems: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background: Self-harm and suicide increase in times of economic recession. Factors including job loss, austerity measures, financial difficulties and house repossession contribute to the risk. Vulnerable individuals commonly experience difficulties in navigating the benefits system and in accessing the available sources of welfare and debt advice, and this contributes to their distress. Our aim is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a brief psychosocial intervention (the “HOPE” service) for people presenting to hospital emergency departments (ED) following self-harm or in acute distress because of financial, employment, or welfare (benefit) difficulties. Method: A pilot study including randomisation will be employed to determine whether it is possible to undertake a full-scale trial. Twenty people presenting to the ED who have self-harmed, have suicidal thoughts and depression and/or are in crisis and where financial, employment or benefit problems are cited as contributory factors will be asked to consent to random allocation to the intervention or control arm on a 2:1 basis. People who require secondary mental health follow-up will be excluded. Those randomised to the intervention arm will receive up to six sessions with a mental health worker who will provide practical help with financial and other problems. The mental health worker will use the motivational interviewing method in their interactions with participants. Control participants will receive one session signposting them to existing relevant support organisations. Participants will be followed up after 3 months. Participants and the mental health workers will take part in qualitative interviews to enable refinement of the intervention. The acceptability of outcome measures including the PHQ-9, GAD-7, repeat self-harm, EQ5D-5L and questions about debt, employment and welfare benefits will be explored. Discussion: This study will assess whether a full-scale randomised trial of this novel intervention to prevent self-harm among those distressed because of financial difficulties is feasible, including the acceptability of randomisation, potential rate of recruitment and the acceptability of outcome measures. Trial registration: ISRCTN5853124

Mode

Ce dictionnaire est le plus complet et le plus novateur à ce jour consacré aux diverses formes de sexualité et à la place qu\u27elles occupent dans notre société. « Je ne sais pas quelle est la question, mais je connais la réponse : le sexe », disait Woody Allen. Ce Dictionnaire, unique en son genre, aborde un sujet, certes bien connu, mais qui n\u27en continue pas moins de susciter beaucoup d\u27interrogations. Sa première originalité est de traiter des sexualités dans leur ensemble et sans tabou. Autrement dit, de prendre en compte les réalités d\u27aujourd\u27hui. Très longtemps, on a parlé de la sexualité au féminin singulier. La norme était celle de l\u27hétérosexualité. Mais on a assisté à la multiplication des identités reconnues dans ce domaine : lesbiennes, gays, bisexuels, transgenres, queers, intersexués. Tel est aujourd\u27hui l\u27univers « des » sexualités.  L\u27autre singularité de cet ouvrage tient à la diversité de ses approches. Il montre comment l\u27évolution des pratiques sexuelles a été perçue selon les pays et les civilisations, les religions, les lois, les principales familles politiques, les grandes périodes de l\u27histoire. Comment ces pratiques ont été abordées aussi à travers la littérature, la philosophie, la psychanalyse, la musique, le cinéma, la peinture, la danse... De nombreuses notices sont consacrées aux thèmes « incontournables » : amour, désir, érotisme, plaisir, amant, hédonisme, partenaires, rapports sexuels, séduction ou sensualité... D\u27autres nous entraînent vers des sujets plus insolites comme la folie, les nanosciences, la mode ou les procès pour impuissance... Janine Mossuz-Lavau a fait appel non seulement à des experts, mais aussi à des « témoins » qui relatent parfois leurs propres expériences, telle Catherine Robbe-Grillet à propos du SM. Textes et documents originaux abondent, parmi lesquels des entretiens avec Françoise Héritier et Brigitte Lahaie. Pédagogique et ludique à la fois, ce Dictionnaire fourmille d\u27informations inédites sur la place que les différentes formes de sexualité occupent plus que jamais dans nos vies

Lingerie

Ce dictionnaire est le plus complet et le plus novateur à ce jour consacré aux diverses formes de sexualité et à la place qu\u27elles occupent dans notre société. « Je ne sais pas quelle est la question, mais je connais la réponse : le sexe », disait Woody Allen. Ce Dictionnaire, unique en son genre, aborde un sujet, certes bien connu, mais qui n\u27en continue pas moins de susciter beaucoup d\u27interrogations. Sa première originalité est de traiter des sexualités dans leur ensemble et sans tabou. Autrement dit, de prendre en compte les réalités d\u27aujourd\u27hui. Très longtemps, on a parlé de la sexualité au féminin singulier. La norme était celle de l\u27hétérosexualité. Mais on a assisté à la multiplication des identités reconnues dans ce domaine : lesbiennes, gays, bisexuels, transgenres, queers, intersexués. Tel est aujourd\u27hui l\u27univers « des » sexualités.  L\u27autre singularité de cet ouvrage tient à la diversité de ses approches. Il montre comment l\u27évolution des pratiques sexuelles a été perçue selon les pays et les civilisations, les religions, les lois, les principales familles politiques, les grandes périodes de l\u27histoire. Comment ces pratiques ont été abordées aussi à travers la littérature, la philosophie, la psychanalyse, la musique, le cinéma, la peinture, la danse... De nombreuses notices sont consacrées aux thèmes « incontournables » : amour, désir, érotisme, plaisir, amant, hédonisme, partenaires, rapports sexuels, séduction ou sensualité... D\u27autres nous entraînent vers des sujets plus insolites comme la folie, les nanosciences, la mode ou les procès pour impuissance... Janine Mossuz-Lavau a fait appel non seulement à des experts, mais aussi à des « témoins » qui relatent parfois leurs propres expériences, telle Catherine Robbe-Grillet à propos du SM. Textes et documents originaux abondent, parmi lesquels des entretiens avec Françoise Héritier et Brigitte Lahaie. Pédagogique et ludique à la fois, ce Dictionnaire fourmille d\u27informations inédites sur la place que les différentes formes de sexualité occupent plus que jamais dans nos vies