Neural signatures of strategic types in a two-person bargaining game

The management and manipulation of our own social image in the minds of others requires difficult and poorly understood computations. One computation useful in social image management is strategic deception: our ability and willingness to manipulate other people's beliefs about ourselves for gain. We used an interpersonal bargaining game to probe the capacity of players to manage their partner's beliefs about them. This probe parsed the group of subjects into three behavioral types according to their revealed level of strategic deception; these types were also distinguished by neural data measured during the game. The most deceptive subjects emitted behavioral signals that mimicked a more benign behavioral type, and their brains showed differential activation in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left Brodmann area 10 at the time of this deception. In addition, strategic types showed a significant correlation between activation in the right temporoparietal junction and expected payoff that was absent in the other groups. The neurobehavioral types identified by the game raise the possibility of identifying quantitative biomarkers for the capacity to manipulate and maintain a social image in another person's mind

β\beta-Decay Spectrum, Response Function and Statistical Model for Neutrino Mass Measurements with the KATRIN Experiment

The objective of the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment is to determine the effective electron neutrino mass $m(\nu_\text{e})$ with an unprecedented sensitivity of $0.2\,\text{eV}$ (90\% C.L.) by precision electron spectroscopy close to the endpoint of the $\beta$ decay of tritium. We present a consistent theoretical description of the $\beta$ electron energy spectrum in the endpoint region, an accurate model of the apparatus response function, and the statistical approaches suited to interpret and analyze tritium $\beta$ decay data observed with KATRIN with the envisaged precision. In addition to providing detailed analytical expressions for all formulae used in the presented model framework with the necessary detail of derivation, we discuss and quantify the impact of theoretical and experimental corrections on the measured $m(\nu_\text{e})$. Finally, we outline the statistical methods for parameter inference and the construction of confidence intervals that are appropriate for a neutrino mass measurement with KATRIN. In this context, we briefly discuss the choice of the $\beta$ energy analysis interval and the distribution of measuring time within that range.Comment: 27 pages, 22 figures, 2 table

A general viscosity model of Campi Flegrei (Italy) melts

Viscosities of shoshonitic and latitic melts, relevant to the Campi Flegrei caldera magmas, have been experimentally determined at atmospheric pressure and 0.5 GPa, temperatures between 840 K and 1870 K, and H2O contents from 0.02 to 3.30 wt%. The concentric cylinder technique was employed at atmospheric pressure to determine viscosity of nominally anhydrous melts in the viscosity range of 101.5 - 103 Pa·s. The micropenetration technique was used to determine the viscosity of hydrous and anhydrous melts at atmospheric pressure in the high viscosity range (1010 Pa·s). Falling sphere experiments were performed at 0.5 GPa in the low viscosity range (from 100.35 to 102.79 Pa·s) in order to obtain viscosity data of anhydrous and hydrous melts. The combination of data obtained from the three different techniques adopted permits a general description of viscosity as a function of temperature and water content using the following modified VFT equation: where η is the viscosity in Pa·s, T the temperature in K, w the H2O content in wt%, and a, b, c, d, e, g are the VFT parameters. This model reproduces the experimental data (95 measurements) with a 1σ standard deviation of 0.19 and 0.22 log units for shoshonite and latite, respectively. The proposed model has been applied also to a more evolved composition (trachyte) from the same area in order to create a general model applicable to the whole compositional range of Campi Flegrei products. Moreover, speed data have been used to constrain the ascent velocity of latitic, shoshonitic, and trachytic melts within dikes. Using petrological data and volcanological information (geometrical parameters of the eruptive fissure and depth of magma storage), we estimate a time scale for the ascent of melt from 9 km to 4 km depth (where deep and shallow reservoirs, respectively, are located) in the order of few minutes. Such a rapid ascent should be taken into account for the hazard assessment in the Campi Flegrei area

Fuzzy Fibers: Uncertainty in dMRI Tractography

Fiber tracking based on diffusion weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) allows for noninvasive reconstruction of fiber bundles in the human brain. In this chapter, we discuss sources of error and uncertainty in this technique, and review strategies that afford a more reliable interpretation of the results. This includes methods for computing and rendering probabilistic tractograms, which estimate precision in the face of measurement noise and artifacts. However, we also address aspects that have received less attention so far, such as model selection, partial voluming, and the impact of parameters, both in preprocessing and in fiber tracking itself. We conclude by giving impulses for future research

Technical design and commissioning of the KATRIN large-volume air coil system

The KATRIN experiment is a next-generation direct neutrino mass experiment with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV (90% C.L.) to the effective mass of the electron neutrino. It measures the tritium $\beta$-decay spectrum close to its endpoint with a spectrometer based on the MAC-E filter technique. The $\beta$-decay electrons are guided by a magnetic field that operates in the mT range in the central spectrometer volume; it is fine-tuned by a large-volume air coil system surrounding the spectrometer vessel. The purpose of the system is to provide optimal transmission properties for signal electrons and to achieve efficient magnetic shielding against background. In this paper we describe the technical design of the air coil system, including its mechanical and electrical properties. We outline the importance of its versatile operation modes in background investigation and suppression techniques. We compare magnetic field measurements in the inner spectrometer volume during system commissioning with corresponding simulations, which allows to verify the system's functionality in fine-tuning the magnetic field configuration. This is of major importance for a successful neutrino mass measurement at KATRIN.Comment: 32 pages, 16 figure

Semileptonic B Decays and Determination of |Vub|

Semileptonic decays of the B mesons provide an excellent probe for the weak and strong interactions of the bottom quark. The large data samples collected at the B Factories have pushed the experimental studies of the semileptonic B decays to a new height and stimulated significant theoretical developments. I review recent progresses in this fast-evolving field, with an emphasis on the determination of the magnitude of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element |Vub|.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Mod. Phys. Lett.

Malaria prophylaxis policy for travellers from Europe to the Indian Sub Continent

Analysis of malaria imported into eight European countries from the Indian sub-continent (ISC) (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) led to a consensus statement on the use of chemoprophylaxis within TropNetEurop. The proportion of cases from the ISC in 2004 ranged from 1.4%–4.6% of total imported cases. Plasmodium falciparum cases reported from the eight countries was only 23 (13% of all cases from the region). Total malaria reports between 1999–2004 fell from 317 to 180. The risk of malaria in UK residents visiting the region was > 1 case per 1,000 years exposed. The group recommended non-selective prescribing of chemoprophylaxis for visitors to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka should be dropped

A pulsed, mono-energetic and angular-selective UV photo-electron source for the commissioning of the KATRIN experiment

The KATRIN experiment aims to determine the neutrino mass scale with a sensitivity of 200 meV/c^2 (90% C.L.) by a precision measurement of the shape of the tritium $\beta$-spectrum in the endpoint region. The energy analysis of the decay electrons is achieved by a MAC-E filter spectrometer. To determine the transmission properties of the KATRIN main spectrometer, a mono-energetic and angular-selective electron source has been developed. In preparation for the second commissioning phase of the main spectrometer, a measurement phase was carried out at the KATRIN monitor spectrometer where the device was operated in a MAC-E filter setup for testing. The results of these measurements are compared with simulations using the particle-tracking software "Kassiopeia", which was developed in the KATRIN collaboration over recent years.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures, submitted to European Physical Journal

First Results on In-Beam gamma Spectroscopy of Neutron-Rich Na and Mg Isotopes at REX-ISOLDE

After the successful commissioning of the radioactive beam experiment at ISOLDE (REX-ISOLDE) - an accelerator for exotic nuclei produced by ISOLDE - first physics experiments using these beams were performed. Initial experiments focused on the region of deformation in the vicinity of the neutron-rich Na and Mg isotopes. Preliminary results show the high potential and physics opportunities offered by the exotic isotope accelerator REX in conjunction with the modern Germanium gamma spectrometer MINIBALL.Comment: 7 pages, RNB6 conference contributio