Defining Neuromarketing: Practices and Professional Challenges

Neuromarketing has recently generated controversies concerning the involvement of medical professionals, and many key questions remain—ones that have potentially important implications for the field of psychiatry. Conflicting definitions ofneuromarketinghave been proposed, and little is known about the actual practices of companies, physicians, and scientists involved in its practice. This article reviews the history of neuromarketing and uses an exploratory survey of neuromarketing Web sites to illustrate ethical issues raised by this new field. Neuromarketing, as currently practiced, is heterogeneous, as companies are offering a variety of technologies. Many companies employ academicians and professionals, but few list their clients or fees. Media coverage of neuromarketing appears disproportionately high compared to the paucity of peer-reviewed reports in the field. Companies may be making premature claims about the power of neuroscience to predict consumer behavior. Overall, neuromarketing has important implications for academic-industrial partnerships, the responsible conduct of research, and the public understanding of the brain. We explore these themes to uncover issues relevant to professional ethics, research, and policy. Of particular relevance to psychiatry, neuromarketing may be seen as an extension of the search for quantification and certainty in previously indefinite aspects of human behavior

Medium-range interactions and crossover to classical critical behavior

We study the crossover from Ising-like to classical critical behavior as a function of the range R of interactions. The power-law dependence on R of several critical amplitudes is calculated from renormalization theory. The results confirm the predictions of Mon and Binder, which were obtained from phenomenological scaling arguments. In addition, we calculate the range dependence of several corrections to scaling. We have tested the results in Monte Carlo simulations of two-dimensional systems with an extended range of interaction. An efficient Monte Carlo algorithm enabled us to carry out simulations for sufficiently large values of R, so that the theoretical predictions could actually be observed.Comment: 16 pages RevTeX, 8 PostScript figures. Uses epsf.sty. Also available as PostScript and PDF file at http://www.tn.tudelft.nl/tn/erikpubs.htm

Universality class of criticality in the restricted primitive model electrolyte

The 1:1 equisized hard-sphere electrolyte or restricted primitive model has been simulated via grand-canonical fine-discretization Monte Carlo. Newly devised unbiased finite-size extrapolation methods using temperature-density, (T, rho), loci of inflections, Q = ^2/ maxima, canonical and C_V criticality, yield estimates of (T_c, rho_c) to +- (0.04, 3)%. Extrapolated exponents and Q-ratio are (gamma, nu, Q_c) = [1.24(3), 0.63(3); 0.624(2)] which support Ising (n = 1) behavior with (1.23_9, 0.630_3; 0.623_6), but exclude classical, XY (n = 2), SAW (n = 0), and n = 1 criticality with potentials phi(r)>Phi/r^{4.9} when r \to \infty

Generalized Geometric Cluster Algorithm for Fluid Simulation

We present a detailed description of the generalized geometric cluster algorithm for the efficient simulation of continuum fluids. The connection with well-known cluster algorithms for lattice spin models is discussed, and an explicit full cluster decomposition is derived for a particle configuration in a fluid. We investigate a number of basic properties of the geometric cluster algorithm, including the dependence of the cluster-size distribution on density and temperature. Practical aspects of its implementation and possible extensions are discussed. The capabilities and efficiency of our approach are illustrated by means of two example studies.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. E. Follow-up to cond-mat/041274

Finite-size Scaling and Universality above the Upper Critical Dimensionality

According to renormalization theory, Ising systems above their upper critical dimensionality d_u = 4 have classical critical behavior and the ratio of magnetization moments Q = ^2 / has the universal value 0.456947... However, Monte Carlo simulations of d = 5 Ising models have been reported which yield strikingly different results, suggesting that the renormalization scenario is incorrect. We investigate this issue by simulation of a more general model in which d_u < 4, and a careful analysis of the corrections to scaling. Our results are in a perfect agreement with the renormalization theory and provide an explanation of the discrepancy mentioned.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 1 PostScript figure. Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Test of renormalization predictions for universal finite-size scaling functions

We calculate universal finite-size scaling functions for systems with an n-component order parameter and algebraically decaying interactions. Just as previously has been found for short-range interactions, this leads to a singular epsilon-expansion, where epsilon is the distance to the upper critical dimension. Subsequently, we check the results by numerical simulations of spin models in the same universality class. Our systems offer the essential advantage that epsilon can be varied continuously, allowing an accurate examination of the region where epsilon is small. The numerical calculations turn out to be in striking disagreement with the predicted singularity.Comment: 6 pages, including 3 EPS figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. E. Also available as PDF file at http://www.cond-mat.physik.uni-mainz.de/~luijten/erikpubs.htm

Statistical approach to dislocation dynamics: From dislocation correlations to a multiple-slip continuum plasticity theory

Due to recent successes of a statistical-based nonlocal continuum crystal plasticity theory for single-glide in explaining various aspects such as dislocation patterning and size-dependent plasticity, several attempts have been made to extend the theory to describe crystals with multiple slip systems using ad-hoc assumptions. We present here a mesoscale continuum theory of plasticity for multiple slip systems of parallel edge dislocations. We begin by constructing the Bogolyubov-Born-Green-Yvon-Kirkwood (BBGYK) integral equations relating different orders of dislocation correlation functions in a grand canonical ensemble. Approximate pair correlation functions are obtained for single-slip systems with two types of dislocations and, subsequently, for general multiple-slip systems of both charges. The effect of the correlations manifests itself in the form of an entropic force in addition to the external stress and the self-consistent internal stress. Comparisons with a previous multiple-slip theory based on phenomenological considerations shall be discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Laboratory Directed Research and Development Annual Report - Fiscal Year 2000

The projects described in this report represent the Laboratory's investment in its future and are vital to maintaining the ability to develop creative solutions for the scientific and technical challenges faced by DOE and the nation. In accordance with DOE guidelines, the report provides, a) a director's statement, b) an overview of the laboratory's LDRD program, including PNNL's management process and a self-assessment of the program, c) a five-year project funding table, and d) project summaries for each LDRD project

Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Aza-Crown Ether Complexes as Biomimetics for Lanthanide and Calcium Dependent Alcohol Dehydrogenases**

Understanding the role of metal ions in biology can lead to the development of new catalysts for several industrially important transformations. Lanthanides are the most recent group of metal ions that have been shown to be important in biology, that is, in quinone-dependent methanol dehydrogenases (MDH). Here we evaluate a literature-known pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and 1-aza-15-crown-5 based ligand platform as scaffold for Ca$^{2+}$, Ba$^{2+}$, La$^{3+}$ and Lu$^{3+}$ biomimetics of MDH and we evaluate the importance of ligand design, charge, size, counterions and base for the alcohol oxidation reaction using NMR spectroscopy. In addition, we report a new straightforward synthetic route (3 steps instead of 11 and 33 % instead of 0.6 % yield) for biomimetic ligands based on PQQ. We show that when studying biomimetics for MDH, larger metal ions and those with lower charge in this case promote the dehydrogenation reaction more effectively and that this is likely an effect of the ligand design which must be considered when studying biomimetics. To gain more information on the structures and impact of counterions of the complexes, we performed collision induced dissociation (CID) experiments and observe that the nitrates are more tightly bound than the triflates. To resolve the structure of the complexes in the gas phase we combined DFT-calculations and ion mobility measurements (IMS). Furthermore, we characterized the obtained complexes and reaction mixtures using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and show the presence of a small amount of quinone-based radical

Critical properties of the three-dimensional equivalent-neighbor model and crossover scaling in finite systems

Accurate numerical results are presented for the three-dimensional equivalent-neighbor model on a cubic lattice, for twelve different interaction ranges (coordination number between 18 and 250). These results allow the determination of the range dependences of the critical temperature and various critical amplitudes, which are compared to renormalization-group predictions. In addition, the analysis yields an estimate for the interaction range at which the leading corrections to scaling vanish for the spin-1/2 model and confirms earlier conclusions that the leading Wegner correction must be negative for the three-dimensional (nearest-neighbor) Ising model. By complementing these results with Monte Carlo data for systems with coordination numbers as large as 52514, the full finite-size crossover curves between classical and Ising-like behavior are obtained as a function of a generalized Ginzburg parameter. Also the crossover function for the effective magnetic exponent is determined.Comment: Corrected shift of critical temperature and some typos. To appear in Phys. Rev. E. 18 pages RevTeX, including 10 EPS figures. Also available as PDF file at http://www.cond-mat.physik.uni-mainz.de/~luijten/erikpubs.htm