Social attitudes modulate automatic imitation

In naturalistic interpersonal settings, mimicry or ‘automatic imitation’ generates liking, affiliation, cooperation and other positive social attitudes. The purpose of this study was to find out whether the relationship between social attitudes and mimicry is bidirectional: Do social attitudes have a direct and specific effect on mimicry? Participants were primed with pro-social, neutral or anti-social words in a scrambled sentence task. They were then tested for mimicry using a stimulus-response compatibility procedure. In this procedure, participants were required to perform a pre-specified movement (e.g. opening their hand) on presentation of a compatible (open) or incompatible (close) hand movement. Reaction time data were collected using electromyography (EMG) and the magnitude of the mimicry / automatic imitation effect was calculated by subtracting reaction times on compatible trials from those on incompatible trials. Pro-social priming produced a larger automatic imitation effect than anti-social priming, indicating that the relationship between mimicry and social attitudes is bidirectional, and that social attitudes have a direct and specific effect on the tendency to imitate behavior without intention or conscious awareness

Experimental determination of the frequency and field dependence of Specific Loss Power in Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia

Magnetic nanoparticles are promising systems for biomedical applications and in particular for Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia, a promising therapy that utilizes the heat released by such systems to damage tumor cells. We present an experimental study of the physical properties that influences the capability of heat release, i.e. the Specific Loss Power, SLP, of three biocompatible ferrofluid samples having a magnetic core of maghemite with different core diameter d= 10.2, 14.6 and 19.7 nm. The SLP was measured as a function of frequency f and intensity of the applied alternating magnetic field H, and it turned out to depend on the core diameter, as expected. The results allowed us to highlight experimentally that the physical mechanism responsible for the heating is size-dependent and to establish, at applied constant frequency, the phenomenological functional relationship SLP=cH^x, with 2<x<3 for all samples. The x-value depends on sample size and field frequency/ intensity, here chosen in the typical range of operating magnetic hyperthermia devices. For the smallest sample, the effective relaxation time Teff=19.5 ns obtained from SLP data is in agreement with the value estimated from magnetization data, thus confirming the validity of the Linear Response Theory model for this system at properly chosen field intensity and frequency

Association of physical activity with cancer incidence, mortality, and survival: a population-based study of men

Within a population-based cohort study, 40 708 men aged 45–79 years followed from 1998 to 2004. After adjusting for potential confounders, we observed a strong inverse linear association between total daily physical activity (PA) and death from cancer (n=1153). For each increment of 4 metabolic equivalent (MET)-h day−1 of total PA (approximately 1 h daily of moderate effort) cancer incidence (n=3714) tended to be decreased by 2% and cancer mortality decreased significantly by 12% (95% confidence interval=6–18%). The 5-year survival after cancer among those men in the top quartile of total PA (77%) was significantly higher compared to the lowest quartile (69%). Compared to those men who hardly ever walked or biked, walking or bicycling an average of 30 min day−1 was associated with a 34% (18–47%) lower rate of cancer death and with improved cancer survival by 33% (14–47%). Incidence of cancer was 16% (2–28%) lower among those who walked or biked at least 60 min day−1. Our results suggest that higher levels of PA and the main component of active living, walking or bicycling are associated with reduced cancer incidence and mortality, as well as higher cancer survival

Magnetic properties and spin dynamics in single molecule paramagnets Cu6Fe and Cu6Co

The magnetic properties and the spin dynamics of two molecular magnets have been investigated by magnetization and d.c. susceptibility measurements, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) over a wide range of temperature (1.6-300K) at applied magnetic fields, H=0.5 and 1.5 Tesla. The two molecular magnets consist of CuII(saldmen)(H2O)}6{FeIII(CN)6}](ClO4)38H2O in short Cu6Fe and the analog compound with cobalt, Cu6Co. It is found that in Cu6Fe whose magnetic core is constituted by six Cu2+ ions and one Fe3+ ion all with s=1/2, a weak ferromagnetic interaction between Cu2+ moments through the central Fe3+ ion with J = 0.14 K is present, while in Cu6Co the Co3+ ion is diamagnetic and the weak interaction is antiferromagnetic with J = -1.12 K. The NMR spectra show the presence of non equivalent groups of protons with a measurable contact hyperfine interaction consistent with a small admixture of s-wave function with the d-function of the magnetic ion. The NMR relaxation results are explained in terms of a single ion (Cu2+, Fe3+, Co3+) uncorrelated spin dynamics with an almost temperature independent correlation time due to the weak magnetic exchange interaction. We conclude that the two molecular magnets studied here behave as single molecule paramagnets with a very weak intramolecular interaction, almost of the order of the dipolar intermolecular interaction. Thus they represent a new class of molecular magnets which differ from the single molecule magnets investigated up to now, where the intramolecular interaction is much larger than the intermolecular one

Cold streams of ionospheric oxygen in the plasma sheet during the CDAW-6 event of March 22, 1979

During magnetospheric substorm events, the plasma and ion composition experiments in the ISEE-1 and 2 satellites detected cold ionospheric O+ streams, moving tailwards in the near Earth magnetotail. Flow is parallel to the magnetic field lines, with drift velocity in agreement with the electric field topology obtained by mapping the model ionospheric field along the magnetic field lines. Fluctuations of the flow velocity of the streams can be related to magnetotail movements. Oscillations of the flow direction and speed with periods ranging from 5 to 10 min that suggest the presence of waves are observed. The streams are observed at all distances between 15 and 6 Re from the Earth. When averaged over 360 deg, the streams show up as a low energy peak, superimposed on the distribution of isotropic plasma sheet ions. This double-peak structure of the energy spectrum seems typical of the disturbed plasma sheet

GPS-based CERN-LNGS time link for Borexino

We describe the design, the equipment, and the calibration of a new GPS based time link between CERN and the Borexino experiment at the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy. This system has been installed and operated in Borexino since March 2012, and used for a precise measurement of CNGS muon neutrinos speed in May 2012. The result of the measurement will be reported in a different letter.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure

Evaluating the features of Museum Websites (The Bologna Report)

MiLE (Milano – Lugano Evaluation Method) is an innovative method for evaluating the quality and usability of hypermedia applications. This paper focuses upon the specific “module” of MiLE concerning cultural heritage applications, synthesizing the results of research carried on by a group of seven museum experts of Bologna (Italy), with the joint coordination of IBC (Institute for the Cultural Heritage of the Emilia Romagna Region) and Politecnico di Milano. The “Bologna group” is composed of different professional figures working in the museum domain: museum curators of artistic, archaeological and historical heritage; museum communication experts; Web sites of cultural institutions’ communication experts. After illustrating the general features of MiLE and the specific features for Cultural Heritage, we will briefly show a few of the results which are to be published in the “Bologna Report”

Near-surface profiles of aerosol number concentration and temperature over the Arctic Ocean

Temperature and particle number concentration profiles were measured at small height intervals above open and frozen leads and snow surfaces in the central Arctic. The device used was a gradient pole designed to investigate potential particle sources over the central Arctic Ocean. The collected data were fitted according to basic logarithmic flux-profile relationships to calculate the sensible heat flux and particle deposition velocity. Independent measurements by the eddy covariance technique were conducted at the same location. General agreement was observed between the two methods when logarithmic profiles could be fitted to the gradient pole data. In general, snow surfaces behaved as weak particle sinks with a maximum deposition velocity vd = 1.3 mm s−1 measured with the gradient pole. The lead surface behaved as a weak particle source before freeze-up with an upward flux Fc = 5.7 × 104 particles m−2 s−1, and as a relatively strong heat source after freeze-up, with an upward maximum sensible heat flux H = 13.1 W m−2. Over the frozen lead, however, we were unable to resolve any significant aerosol profiles