Criminal and Noncriminal Psychopathy: The Devil is in the Detail

Brooks, NS ORCiD: 0000-0003-1784-099XPsychopathy is prevalent and problematic in criminal populations, but is also found to be present in noncriminal populations. In 1992, Robert Hare declared that psychopaths may also “be found in the boardroom”, which has since been followed by an interest in the issue of noncriminal, or even successful, psychopathy. In this chapter, the paradox of criminal and noncriminal psychopathy is discussed with specific attention given to the similarities and differences that account for psychopathic personality across contexts. That psychopathy is a condition typified by a constellation of traits and behaviours requires wider research across diverse populations, and thus the streams of research related to criminal and noncriminal psychopathy are presented and the implications of these contrasting streams are explored

Neural responses to others’ pain vary with psychopathic traits in healthy adult males

Disrupted empathic processing is a core feature of psychopathy. Neuroimaging data have suggested that individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits show atypical responses to others' pain in a network of brain regions typically recruited during empathic processing (anterior insula, inferior frontal gyrus, and mid- and anterior cingulate cortex). Here, we investigated whether neural responses to others' pain vary with psychopathic traits within the general population in a similar manner to that found in individuals at the extreme end of the continuum. As predicted, variation in psychopathic traits was associated with variation in neural responses to others' pain in the network of brain regions typically engaged during empathic processing. Consistent with previous research, our findings indicated the presence of suppressor effects in the association of levels of the affective-interpersonal and lifestyle-antisocial dimensions of psychopathy with neural responses to others' pain. That is, after controlling for the influence of the other dimension, higher affective-interpersonal psychopathic traits were associated with reduced neural responses to others' pain, whilst higher lifestyle-antisocial psychopathic traits were associated with increased neural responses to others' pain. Our findings provide further evidence that atypical function in this network might represent neural markers of disrupted emotional and empathic processing; that the two dimensions of psychopathy might tap into distinct underlying vulnerabilities; and, most importantly, that the relationships observed at the extreme end of the psychopathy spectrum apply to the nonclinical distribution of these traits, providing further evidence for continuities in the mechanisms underlying psychopathic traits across the general population

Diet quality and the attractiveness of male body odor

Human axillary sweat may provide information pertaining to genetic relatedness and health status. A significant contributor to good health, both in the short and longer term, is a diet rich in fruit and vegetables. In this study we tested whether dietary fruit and vegetable intake, assessed indirectly by skin spectrophotometry (assessing dietary carotenoid intakes) and subjectively by food frequency questionnaire, was associated with more pleasant smelling sweat. Male participants provided axillary sweat samples and dietary information. Female participants then evaluated these samples on several affective, qualitative and psychophysical dimensions. The skin spectrophotometry measure (CIELab b*), indicative of greater fruit and vegetable intake, was significantly associated with more pleasant smelling sweat (with more floral, fruity, sweet and medicinal qualities), independent of sweat intensity. Self-report dietary data revealed that fat, meat, egg and tofu intake was associated with more pleasant smelling sweat, and greater carbohydrate intake with stronger smelling less pleasant sweat. These data parallel facial judgments, in which yellower more carotenoid rich skin, is found to be more attractive.8 page(s

Structural characterization of iron-based bulk metallic glass alloys produced by centrifugal casting

In this study bulk metallic glass alloys in the Fe-Zr-B-M (M=Al, Co, Cu, Mo, Ni, W) systemwere produced by using a centrifugal casting method. The thickness ofthe samples that could be produced with an almost completely amorphousstructure was found to be as high as similar to2 mm for alloy Fe60Co8Zr10Mo5W2B15. Alloying element additions or replacements have resulted in a considerable effect on glass-forming ability. Among others, Al and Cu were found to have the most deteriorative effects. The ternary alloy Fe70Zr10B20, from which bulk metallic glass alloys can be formed by cleverly implementing several alloying elements, was seen to have a different phase transformation behavior when compared to alloy Fe60Co8Zr10Mo5W2B15. For the latter alloy, the phase transformation process and microstructure evolution were found to be extremely sensitive to variation of the cooling rate

Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Various Extracts of Verbascum antiochium

Verbascum antiochium Boiss., a member of the Scrophulariaceae family, is endemic to Turkey. The extracts obtained from V. antiochium by increased polarity and direct methanol extraction were tested by the agar well diffusion method against various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and one fungus. The methanol/water extract exhibited a larger inhibition zone against both the Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria than the other extracts. Haemophilus influenzae was found to be the most sensitive bacterium among the bacteria tested. The antioxidant activities of the methanolic extract of V. antiochium were examined by two complementary test systems. The 50% inhibition activity of the methanolic extract of V. antiochium against the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl was determined as 4.80 mg/mL. In the case of the linoleic acid system, oxidation of linoleic acid was inhibited by the methanolic extract of V. antiochium with 79.92% inhibition, which is close to the value of the synthetic antioxidant reagent, tert-butylated hydroxytoluene. The total phenolic components of V. antiochium were determined to be 92.71 mg of gallic acid equivalents/g. Iridoid glycosides, flavonoids, and saponins were detected as the major chemical constituents in the extract