The discrimination of self from other as a component of empathy.

Despite the centrality of empathy in human social life, there is no widely agreed definition or characterization of the concept of empathy. A common thread in many of the proposed definitions, however, is that empathy presupposes the discrimination of self and other on the grounds that, to empathize with another individual, the mental state of the target individual must first be distinguished from the empathizer's own mental state. The purpose of this study is to investigate this proposal empirically. We employed a paradigm in which participants rated the emotional valence and degree of arousal of 93 facial expressions of mental states. We asked participants to infer the mental state represented by each facial expression (the Other condition) as well as to describe the effect of the expression on their own mental state (the Self condition). An absolute difference score between the Other and the Self conditions was used as an index of a capacity for self-other discrimination. Empathy was measured using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Results show that individuals high in trait empathy discriminate between self and other to a significantly greater degree when judging mental states than individuals low in trait empathy. This suggests that the capacity for self-other discrimination may be a component of the capacity for empathy and that future investigations of the concept of empathy ought to retain it. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Linear Contraction Behavior of Low-Carbon, Low-Alloy Steels During and After Solidification Using Real-Time Measurements

A technique for measuring the linear contraction during and after solidification of low-alloy steel was developed and used for examination of two commercial low-carbon and low-alloy steel grades. The effects of several experimental parameters on the contraction were studied. The solidification contraction behavior was described using the concept of rigidity in a solidifying alloy, evolution of the solid fraction, and the microstructure development during solidification. A correlation between the linear contraction properties in the solidification range and the hot crack susceptibility was proposed and used for the estimation of hot cracking susceptibility for two studied alloys and verified with the real casting practice. The technique allows estimation of the contraction coefficient of commercial steels in a wide range of temperatures and could be helpful for computer simulation and process optimization during continuous casting. © 2013 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International

Ion antiport accelerates photosynthetic acclimation in fluctuating light environments

Many photosynthetic organisms globally, including crops, forests and algae, must grow in environments where the availability of light energy fluctuates dramatically. How photosynthesis maintains high efficiency despite such fluctuations in its energy source remains poorly understood. Here we show that Arabidopsis thaliana ​K+ efflux antiporter (​KEA3) is critical for high photosynthetic efficiency under fluctuating light. On a shift from dark to low light, or high to low light, ​kea3 mutants show prolonged dissipation of absorbed light energy as heat. ​KEA3 localizes to the thylakoid membrane, and allows proton efflux from the thylakoid lumen by proton/potassium antiport. ​KEA3’s activity accelerates the downregulation of pH-dependent energy dissipation after transitions to low light, leading to faster recovery of high photosystem II quantum efficiency and increased ​CO2 assimilation. Our results reveal a mechanism that increases the efficiency of photosynthesis under fluctuating light. [EN]This project was funded by the Carnegie Institution for Science, by ERDF-cofinanced grants from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BIO2012-33655) and Junta de Andalucia (CVI-7558) to K.V., the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) PGS-D3 scholarship to L.P. and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grants (JA 665/10-1 and GRK 1525 to P.J.; AR 808/1-1 to U.A.).Peer reviewe

Neutron powder diffraction:New opportunities in hydrogen location in molecular and materials structure

The potential of neutron powder diffraction in the location of hydrogen atoms in molecular materials and inorganic-molecular complexes is reviewed. Advances in instrumentation and data collection techniques that have made this field accessible are reviewed, along with a wide range of applications carried out by our collaboration investigating functional materials, hydrogen-containing minerals and molecular compounds. Some of the limitations in this area, particularly for molecular systems, are also addressed

Endothelial Function Assessed by Digital Volume Plethysmography Predicts the Development and Progression of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background Endothelial dysfunction is a consequence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, but it is unclear whether endothelial dysfunction of conductance versus resistance vessels may also precede type 2 diabetes mellitus development. Methods and Results In a population‐based cohort of 15 010 individuals from the GHS (Gutenberg Health Study) (aged 35–74 years at enrollment in 2007–2012), we identified 1610 cases of incident pre–diabetes mellitus and 386 cases of incident type 2 diabetes mellitus by hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and/or medical history between 2012 and 2017. Endothelial function of conductance and resistance vessels was measured by flow‐mediated dilation and digital volume plethysmography–derived reactive hyperemia index, respectively. Multivariable regression modeling was used to estimate β coefficients of HbA1c levels at follow‐up and relative risks of incident (pre–)diabetes mellitus. Reactive hyperemia index was independently associated with HbA1c after multivariable adjustment for baseline HbA1c, sex, age, socioeconomic status, arterial hypertension, waist/height ratio, pack‐years of smoking, non–high‐density lipoprotein/high‐density lipoprotein ratio, physical activity, family history of myocardial infarction/stroke, prevalent cardiovascular disease, medication use, and C‐reactive protein (β=−0.020; P=0.0029). The adjusted relative risk per SD decline in reactive hyperemia index was 1.08 (95% CI, 1.02–1.15; P=0.012) for incident pre–diabetes mellitus and 1.16 (95% CI, 1.01–1.34; P=0.041) for incident type 2 diabetes mellitus. Flow‐mediated dilation independently increased the relative risk for developing pre–diabetes mellitus by 8% (95% CI, 1.02–1.14; P=0.012), but it was not independently associated with incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (relative risk, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.86–1.19; P=0.92) and with HbA1c (β=−0.003; P=0.59). Conclusions Endothelial dysfunction of resistance rather than conductance vessels may precede the development of (pre–)diabetes mellitus. Assessment of endothelial function by digital volume plethysmography may help to identify subjects at risk for development of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Modular and predictable assembly of porous organic molecular crystals

Nanoporous molecular frameworks are important in applications such as separation, storage and catalysis. Empirical rules exist for their assembly but it is still challenging to place and segregate functionality in three-dimensional porous solids in a predictable way. Indeed, recent studies of mixed crystalline frameworks suggest a preference for the statistical distribution of functionalities throughout the pores rather than, for example, the functional group localization found in the reactive sites of enzymes. This is a potential limitation for 'one-pot' chemical syntheses of porous frameworks from simple starting materials. An alternative strategy is to prepare porous solids from synthetically preorganized molecular pores. In principle, functional organic pore modules could be covalently prefabricated and then assembled to produce materials with specific properties. However, this vision of mix-and-match assembly is far from being realized, not least because of the challenge in reliably predicting three-dimensional structures for molecular crystals, which lack the strong directional bonding found in networks. Here we show that highly porous crystalline solids can be produced by mixing different organic cage modules that self-assemble by means of chiral recognition. The structures of the resulting materials can be predicted computationally, allowing in silico materials design strategies. The constituent pore modules are synthesized in high yields on gram scales in a one-step reaction. Assembly of the porous co-crystals is as simple as combining the modules in solution and removing the solvent. In some cases, the chiral recognition between modules can be exploited to produce porous organic nanoparticles. We show that the method is valid for four different cage modules and can in principle be generalized in a computationally predictable manner based on a lock-and-key assembly between modules

Chirality as a tool for function in porous organic cages

The control of solid state assembly for porous organic cages is more challenging than for extended frameworks, such as metal–organic frameworks. Chiral recognition is one approach to achieving this control. Here we investigate chiral analogues of cages that were previously studied as racemates. We show that chiral cages can be produced directly from chiral precursors or by separating racemic cages by co-crystallisation with a second chiral cage, opening up a route to producing chiral cages from achiral precursors. These chiral cages can be cocrystallized in a modular, ‘isoreticular’ fashion, thus modifying porosity, although some chiral pairings require a specific solvent to direct the crystal into the desired packing mode. Certain cages are shown to interconvert chirality in solution, and the steric factors governing this behavior are explored both by experiment and by computational modelling