How to portray men and women in advertisements? Explicit and implicit evaluations of ads depicting different gender roles.

The purpose of the current study was to gain more insight in the evaluation of advertisements containing different gender role portrayals (stereotypical/a-stereotypical) by examining explicit and implicit processes of ad evaluation. The results of two experiments showed an explicit preference for ads containing a-stereotypical images. Implicitly, we found a preference for 'warm' ads irrespective of the degree of gender stereotypicality of the ad. These findings suggest that complex stimuli such as ads may inhibit implicit gender stereotype activation. At an implicit level, warmth seems a better predictor of ad evaluation.Ad evaluation; Evaluation; Gender role portrayal; Image; Implicit association test; Implicit attitudes; Implicit stereotyping; Preference; Processes; Research; Roles; Studies;

Digit extension: validation of a new biometric variable.

This paper reports on a new biometric variable, namely digit extension. We calculated the average length of the second and fourth digit rather than their ratio and we entitled this biometric digit extension. In a first study, we showed that digit extension is related more strongly to a self-concept associated with vigor (masculine trait) than with supportiveness (feminine trait) in men, but not in women. In a second study we found that digit extension and risk seeking (masculine trait) were related in men, but not in women. In a third study we found that for both men and women a higher digit extension was related to more altruistic behavior in a situation where it is in accordance with either masculine or feminine traits. For all studies we show divergent validity with digit ratio, indicating that digit extension is independent of digit ratio. We speculate about the hormonal influences that determine digit extension.Altruism; Behavior; Digit extension; Finger lengths; Masculinity; Risk; Risk seeking; Studies; Validation;

New technique to protect RC structures against explosions

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THE THALAMIC RETICULAR NUCLEUS: A MULTIFACETED GUARDIAN

Interactions between the cortex and the thalamus are essential for major brain functions such as sensory information processing and integration, sleep and wake regulation and cognitive processes. The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is strategically positioned within the thalamocortical circuit and has a strong inhibitory control over the thalamus. It can act on a global scale, such as suppressing the flow of sensory information from the thalamus to the cortex during sleep. The TRN also acts locally on the activity of single cells or small cell groups. To reconcile both of these global and local aspects of TRN functions, we studied the cellular, synaptic and functional heterogeneity of the TRN, with a focus on the comparison between the classical sensory TRN and the less well-described limbic TRN. In study 1, using anatomical tracing and cellular electrophysiology, we identified the dorsal presubiculum (dPreS), the retrosplenial cortex (RSC) and the anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) as part of a novel thalamo-cortical circuit involving the limbic TRN in mice. The dPreS, RSC and ATN are three key structures for spatial navigation. dPreS/RSC excitatory glutamatergic synapses formed on TRN and ATN are part of a feedforward circuit through which TRN-mediated inhibition generates large burst-mediated inhibitory synaptic currents. The PreS/RSC afferents to the TRN showed driver-like characteristics, which is unprecedented for corticoreticular synapses and expands the scope of the TRN heterogeneity to the nature of its synaptic afferents. We further investigated the role of the limbic TRN in the control of head-direction neurons that were previously described to be located in the anterodorsal thalamus. The width of the tuning curve of head-direction neurons in the thalamus was broadened upon chemogenetic silencing of the TRN, revealing a novel form of internal sensory gating by the TRN. About half of the head-direction neurons showed action potential discharge patterns consistent with feedforward inhibitory responses upon light activation of dPreS/RSC. These data suggest that the limbic TRN sharpens the tuning of thalamic head-direction neurons under dPreS/RSC control. Finally, we investigated the potential function of the limbic TRN in the hidden version of the Morris watermaze. We discovered that chemogenetic silencing of the limbic TRN biased the search patterns towards allocentric strategies and generated perseverance to previously learned escape positions, suggesting an impairment of the egocentric system in which the head-direction system plays a critical role. In study 2, we combined opto-tagging of TRN sectors with in vitro electrophysiological recordings and discovered that the limbic TRN neurons produced less repetitive burst firing than their sensory counterpart. The burst discharge of sensory TRN neurons is known to generate sleep spindles that propagate to the cortex, that are a marker of sleep quality and that correlate with memory consolidation. Consistently, local field potential recordings in the prefrontal cortex that is related to the less bursty limbic TRN revealed smaller amplitude and slower sleep spindles compared to sensory ones, making the heterogeneity of the TRN a critical player in local sleep rhythms. This thesis summarizes elements supporting the heterogeneity of the TRN, in particular between the sensory and the limbic TRN. It also provides a novel function for the limbic TRN in the spatial navigation system

Influence of alloying elements on the phase formation of ultrathin Ni (<10nm) on Si(001) substrates

The influence of Ni thickness on the formation of Nickel silicides was systematically investigated between 0 and 15nm. Annealing thickness gradients distinguishes films that agglomerate (>5nm) and films that are morphologically stable (<5nm). Alloying the initial Ni layer influences this critical thickness to higher (Al, Co) and lower (Ge, Pd, Pt) values. Pole figures and in situ XRD provides information to understand this observed shift in critical thickness