Brain electric fields, belief in the paranormal, and reading of emotion words

The present work reports two experiments on brain electric correlates of cognitive and emotional functions. (1) Studying paranormal belief, 35-channel resting EEG (10 believers and 13 skeptics) was analyzed with "Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography" (LORETA) in seven frequency bands. LORETA gravity centers of all bands shifted to the left in believers vs. sceptics, and showed that believers had stronger left fronto-temporo-parietal activity than skeptics. Self-rating of affective attitude showed believers to be less negative than skeptics. The observed EEG lateralization agreed with the ‘valence hypothesis’ that posits predominant left hemispheric processing for positive emotions. (2) Studying emotions, positive and negative emotion words were presented to 21 subjects while "Event-Related Potentials" (ERPs) were recorded. During word presentation (450 ms), 13 microstates (steps of information processing) were identified. Three microstates showed different potential maps for positive vs. negative words; LORETA functional imaging showed stronger activity in microstate #4 (106-122 ms) for positive words right anterior, for negative words left central; in #6 (138-166 ms) for positive words left anterior, for negative words left posterior; in #7 (166-198 ms), for positive words right anterior, for negative words right central. In conclusion: during word processing, the extraction of emotion content starts as early as 106 ms after stimulus onset; the brain identifies emotion content repeatedly in three separate, brief microstate epochs; and, this processing of emotion content in the three microstates involves different brain mechanisms to represent the distinction positive vs. negative valence.Die Arbeit umfasst zwei Experimente zu hirnelektrischen Korrelaten kognitiver und emotionaler Funktionen. (1) Glauben an paranormale Phänomene: 35-Kanal Ruhe-EEG (10 Gläubige, 13 Skeptiker) wurde mit "Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography" (LORETA) analysiert (7 EEG-Frequenzbänder). LORETA zeigte Links-Verschiebung der Schwerpunkte aller Bänder bei Gläubigen durch erhöhte Aktivität links fronto-temporo-parietal. Die Affektive Haltung war im Selbst-Rating bei Gläubigen weniger negativ als bei Skeptikern. Die EEG-Lateralisierung passt zur Valenz-Hypothese emotionaler Verarbeitung, die vorwiegend linkshemisphärische Aktivität bei positiver Emotion postuliert. (2) Zur Emotions-Verarbeitung wurden 21 Versuchspersonen emotional positive und negative Wörter gezeigt und dabei "Event-Related Potentials" (ERPs) registriert. 13 Mikrozustände (Informations-Verarbeitungsschritte) wurden während der Darbietungszeit (450 ms) identifiziert. In 3 Mikrozuständen unterschieden sich die topographischen ERP-Karten für positive und negative Wörter. LORETA zeigte erhöhte Aktivität im Mikrozustand #4 (106-122 ms) für positive Wörter rechts anterior, für negative links zentral; im Mikrozustand #6 (138-166 ms) für positive Wörter links anterior, für negative links posterior; im Mikrozustand #7 (166-198 ms) für positive Wörter rechts anterior, für negative rechts zentral. Zusammenfassend: die Extraktion emotionalen Gehalts beginnt bereits 106 ms nach Stimulusbeginn, umfasst repetitiv drei separate, kurze Verarbeitungsschritte, und erfolgt in diesen Schritten auf unterschiedliche Art, d.h. benutzt unterschiedliche Hirnmechanismen zur Inkorporation der Unterscheidung positiv-negativ

Are There Hints of Light Stops in Recent Higgs Search Results?

The recent discovery at the LHC by the CMS and ATLAS collaborations of the Higgs boson presents, at long last, direct probes of the mechanism for electroweak symmetry breaking. While it is clear from the observations that the new particle plays some role in this process, it is not yet apparent whether the couplings and widths of the observed particle match those predicted by the Standard Model. In this paper, we perform a global fit of the Higgs results from the LHC and Tevatron. While these results could be subject to as-yet-unknown systematics, we find that the data are significantly better fit by a Higgs with a suppressed width to gluon-gluon and an enhanced width to gamma gamma, relative to the predictions of the Standard Model. After considering a variety of new physics scenarios which could potenially modify these widths, we find that the most promising possibility is the addition of a new colored, charged particle, with a large coupling to the Higgs. Of particular interest is a light, and highly mixed, stop, which we show can provide the required alterations to the combination of gg and gamma gamma widths.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Editorial. The sustainability challenge. New perspectives on the use of microbial approaches and their impact on food and feed

Building a more resilient food chain, reducing food loss and waste, improving food production practices and increasing plant-based food consumption are some of the fundamental actions suggested in The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations Member States in 20151. The objective of this special issue was to explore how the use of microorganisms as direct or indirect sources of transformation could contribute to these sustainability practices. In this context, the following strategies have been presented: (i) valorization of side-streams and underutilized food resources via fermentation, (ii) improvement of the efficiency of bioprocesses for the food and feed industry, and (iii) understanding and applying the microbiome as a resource to improve the agro-food system

Why Some People Discount More than Others: Baseline Activation in the Dorsal PFC Mediates the Link between COMT Genotype and Impatient Choice

Individuals differ widely in how steeply they discount future rewards. The sources of these stable individual differences in delay discounting (DD) are largely unknown. One candidate is the COMT Val158Met polymorphism, known to modulate prefrontal dopamine levels and affect DD. To identify possible neural mechanisms by which this polymorphism may contribute to stable individual DD differences, we measured 73 participants’ neural baseline activation using resting electroencephalogram (EEG). Such neural baseline activation measures are highly heritable and stable over time, thus an ideal endophenotype candidate to explain how genes may influence behavior via individual differences in neural function. After EEG-recording, participants made a series of incentive-compatible intertemporal choices to determine the steepness of their DD. We found that COMT significantly affected DD and that this effect was mediated by baseline activation level in the left dorsal prefrontal cortex (DPFC): (i) COMT had a significant effect on DD such that the number of Val alleles was positively correlated with steeper DD (higher numbers of Val alleles means greater COMT activity and thus lower dopamine levels). (ii) A whole-brain search identified a cluster in left DPFC where baseline activation was correlated with DD; lower activation was associated with steeper DD. (iii) COMT had a significant effect on the baseline activation level in this left DPFC cluster such that a higher number of Val alleles was associated with lower baseline activation. (iv) The effect of COMT on DD was explained by the mediating effect of neural baseline activation in the left DPFC cluster. Our study thus establishes baseline activation level in left DPFC as salient neural signature in the form of an endophenotype that mediates the link between COMT and DD

The Higgs boson in the MSSM in light of the LHC

We investigate the expectations for the light Higgs signal in the MSSM in different search channels at the LHC. After taking into account dark matter and flavor constraints in the MSSM with eleven free parameters, we show that the light Higgs signal in the $gamma\gamma$ channel is expected to be at most at the level of the SM Higgs, while the $h\rightarrow b\bar{b}$ from W fusion and/or the $h \rightarrow\tau\bar\tau$ can be enhanced. For the main discovery mode, we show that a strong suppression of the signal occurs in two different cases: low $M_A$ or large invisible width. A more modest suppression is associated with the effect of light supersymmetric particles. Looking for such modification of the Higgs properties and searching for supersymmetric partners and pseudoscalar Higgs offer two complementary probes of supersymmetry.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure

Evaluation of a combination of alfaxalone and methadone, with or without midazolam, for premedication in healthy dogs

Introduction: The study objective was to evaluate sedative and physiologic effects of midazolam associated with a combination of methadone and alfaxalone for IM premedication in dogs. Methods: Sixteen healthy dogs of various breeds, weighing 5–12 kg, classified ASA status I-II, randomly received a combination of 0.5 mg kg−1 of methadone and 1 mg kg−1 of alfaxalone with (MMA) or without (MA) 0.5 mg kg−1 of midazolam by IM injection. Quality of sedation was assessed at 10, 15, 20 and 25 minutes post-injection, by an observer blinded to treatment. Cardiovascular, respiratory variables and additional intravenous alfaxalone required for endotracheal intubation were recorded. Data were analyzed with mixed-effect linear model on rank or Mann-Whitney rank-sum test (p≤0.05). Results: There was no significant difference over time in heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure, SpO2 and temperature between MA and MMA premedication. Sedation increased over time (p < 0.01), however dogs premedicated with MMA appeared significantly less sedated than dogs premedicated with MA at 15 (p=0.02), 20 (p=0.02) and 25 minutes (p=0.01) post-injection. This was substantiated by the fact that dogs premedicated with MMA were almost four times more likely to show delirium than those premedicated with MA (OR 3.95, CI 0.69-7.21, p=0.02). The amount of alfaxalone needed for intubation did not differ between treatments (p=0.92). Conclusion: Results suggest that adding midazolam to an IM combination of methadone and alfaxalone does not improve sedation scores or amount of agent needed for intubation in healthy dogs

EEG Microstates in Social and Affective Neuroscience.

Social interactions require both the rapid processing of multifaceted socio-affective signals (e.g., eye gaze, facial expressions, gestures) and their integration with evaluations, social knowledge, and expectations. Researchers interested in understanding complex social cognition and behavior face a "black box" problem: What are the underlying mental processes rapidly occurring between perception and action and why are there such vast individual differences? In this review, we promote electroencephalography (EEG) microstates as a powerful tool for both examining socio-affective states (e.g., processing whether someone is in need in a given situation) and identifying the sources of heterogeneity in socio-affective traits (e.g., general willingness to help others). EEG microstates are identified by analyzing scalp field maps (i.e., the distribution of the electrical field on the scalp) over time. This data-driven, reference-independent approach allows for identifying, timing, sequencing, and quantifying the activation of large-scale brain networks relevant to our socio-affective mind. In light of these benefits, EEG microstates should become an indispensable part of the methodological toolkit of laboratories working in the field of social and affective neuroscience

Changes in carotenoids, phenolic acids and antioxidant capacity in bread wheat doughs fermented with different lactic acid bacteria strains

Amongst the processing technologies able to improve the functional features of cereal-based foods, sourdough fermentation using Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) has been recently rediscovered for its beneficial effects. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) bread doughs were prepared using LAB strains belonging to different Lactobacillus species and changes in phenolic acid, carotenoid content and antioxidant capacity were evaluated. Two L. plantarum strains out of six were able to significantly increase carotenoid content in the dough, suggesting that a higher mobilization/solubilisation of these antioxidant compounds occurs. Within different fractions (free, soluble-conjugated, insoluble-bound), the relative distribution of ferulic acid and antioxidant activity changes depending on the specific strain. Overall, results indicate that some LAB strains cause in situ changes, significantly increasing the content of functional compounds in doughs during fermentation. This, in turn, could improve the functional features of bakery foods characterised by a high content in carotenoids and other bioactive compounds

The super-LHC

We review here the prospects of a long-term upgrade programme for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), CERN laboratory's new proton-proton collider. The super-LHC, which is currently under evaluation and design, is expected to deliver of the order of ten times the statistics of the LHC. In addition to a non-technical summary of the principal physics arguments for the upgrade, I present a pedagogical introduction to the technological challenges on the accelerator and experimental fronts, and a review of the current status of the planning.Comment: To appear in Contemporary Physic