Autistic empathy toward autistic others.

自閉スペクトラム症がある方々による、自閉スペクトラム症がある方々に対する共感. 京都大学プレスリリーズ. 2014-11-06.Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are thought to lack self-awareness and to experience difficulty empathising with others. Although these deficits have been demonstrated in previous studies, most of the target stimuli were constructed for typically developing (TD) individuals. We employed judgment tasks capable of indexing self-relevant processing in individuals with and without ASD. Fourteen Japanese males and one Japanese female with high-functioning ASD (17-41 years of age) and 13 Japanese males and two TD Japanese females ( 22-40 years of age), all of whom were matched for age and full and verbal intelligence quotient scores with the ASD participants, were enrolled in this study. The results demonstrated that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex was significantly activated in individuals with ASD in response to autistic characters and in TD individuals in response to non-autistic characters. Whereas the frontal-posterior network between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and superior temporal gyrus participated in the processing of non-autistic characters in TD individuals, an alternative network was involved when individuals with ASD processed autistic characters. This suggests an atypical form of empathy in individuals with ASD toward others with ASD

The use of MRI apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in monitoring the development of brain infarction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To study the rules that apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) changes with time and space in cerebral infarction, and to provide the evidence in defining the infarction stages.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>117 work-ups in 98 patients with cerebral infarction (12 hyperacute, 43 acute, 29 subacute, 10 steady, and 23 chronic infarctions) were imaged with both conventional MRI and diffusion weighted imaging. The average ADC values, the relative ADC (rADC) values, and the ADC values or rADC values from the center to the periphery of the lesion were calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average ADC values and the rADC values of hyperacute and acute infarction lesion depressed obviously. rADC values in hyperacute and acute stage was minimized, and increased progressively as time passed and appeared as "pseudonormal" values in approximately 8 to 14 days. Thereafter, rADC values became greater than normal in chronic stage. There was positive correlation between rADC values and time (P < 0.01). The ADC values and the rADC values in hyperacute and acute lesions had gradient signs that these lesions increased from the center to the periphery. The ADC values and the rADC values in subacute lesions had adverse gradient signs that these lesions decreased from the center to the periphery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ADC values of infarction lesions have evolution rules with time and space. The evolution rules with time and those in space can be helpful to decide the clinical stage, and to provide the evidence in guiding the treatment or judging the prognosis in infarction.</p

Search for Charmless Two-body Baryonic Decays of B Mesons

We report the results of a search for the rare baryonic decays $B^0 \to p\bar{p}$, $\Lambda\bar{\Lambda}$, and $B^+ \to p\bar{\Lambda}$. The analysis is based on a data set of $31.7\times 10^6 B\bar{B}$ events collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^+e^-$ collider. No statistically significant signals are found, and we set branching fraction upper limits ${\mathcal B}(B^0 \to p\bar{p}) < 1.2 \times 10^{-6}$, ${\mathcal B}(B^0 \to \Lambda\bar{\Lambda}) < 1.0 \times 10^{-6}$, and ${\mathcal B}(B^+ \to p\bar{\Lambda}) < 2.2 \times 10^{-6}$ at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures and 1 table. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D Rapid Communication

Observation of Large CP Violation in the Neutral B Meson System

We present a measurement of the Standard Model CP violation parameter sin 2phi_1 based on a 29.1 fb^{-1} data sample collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. One neutral B meson is fully reconstructed as a J/psi Ks, psi(2S) Ks, chi_c1 Ks, eta_c Ks, J/psi K_L or J/psi K^{*0} decay and the flavor of the accompanying B meson is identified from its decay products. From the asymmetry in the distribution of the time intervals between the two B meson decay points, we determine sin 2phi_1 = 0.99 +- 0.14(stat) +- 0.06(syst). We conclude that we have observed CP violation in the neutral B meson system.Comment: 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Letter

Measurement of B0d - B0d-bar mixing rate from the time evolution of dilepton events at the Upsilon(4S)

We report a determination of the B0d - B0d-bar mixing parameter Delta-m_d based on the time evolution of dilepton yields in Upsilon(4S) decays. The measurement is based on a 5.9 /fb data sample collected by the Belle detector at KEKB. The proper-time difference distributions for same-sign and opposite-sign dilepton events are simultaneously fitted to an expression containing Delta-m_d as a free parameter. Using both muons and electrons, we obtain Delta-m_d = 0.463 +- 0.008(stat.) +- 0.016(sys.) ps^{-1} This is the first determination of Delta-m_d from time evolution measurements at the Upsilon(4S). We also place limits on possible CPT violations.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Search for Direct CP Violation in B -> K pi Decays

We search for direct CP violation in flavor specific B -> K pi decays by measuring the rate asymmetry between charge conjugate modes. The search is performed on a data sample of 11.1 million B B bar events recorded on the Upsilon(4S) resonance by the Belle experiment at KEKB. We measure 90% confidence intervals in the partial rate asymmetry A_CP of -0.25 < A_CP(K-/+ pi+/-) < 0.37, -0.40 < A_CP(K-/+ pi^0) < 0.36, and -0.53 < A_CP(K^0 pi-/+) < 0.82. By combining the K-/+ pi+/- and K-/+ pi^0 final states, we conclude that -0.22 < A_CP[K-/+(pi+/- + pi^0)] < 0.25 at the 90% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to PRD Rapid Communication

Measurement of the CP Violation Parameter sin(2phi_1) in B^0_d Meson Decays

We present a measurement of the Standard Model CP violation parameter sin(2phi_1) based on a 10.5 fb^{-1} data sample collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e+e- collider. One neutral B meson is reconstructed in the J/psi K_S, psi(2S) K_S, chi_{c1} K_S, eta_c K_S, J/psi K_L or J/psi pi^0 CP-eigenstate decay channel and the flavor of the accompanying B meson is identified from its charged particle decay products. From the asymmetry in the distribution of the time interval between the two B-meson decay points, we determine sin(2phi_1) = 0.58 +0.32-0.34 (stat) +0.09-0.10 (syst).Comment: LaTex, 13 pages, 3 figures, submitted to P.R.

Observation of Cabibbo-suppressed and W-exchange Lambda_c^+ baryon decays

We present measurements of the Cabibbo-suppressed decays Lambda_c^+ --> Lambda0 K+ and Lambda_c^+ --> Sigma0 K+ (both first observations), Lambda_c^+ --> Sigma+ K+ pi- (seen with large statistics for the first time), Lambda_c^+ --> p K+ K- and Lambda_c^+ --> p phi (measured with improved accuracy). Improved branching ratio measurements for the decays Lambda_c^+ --> Sigma+ K+ K- and Lambda_c^+ --> Sigma+ phi, which are attributed to W-exchange diagrams, are shown. We also present the first evidence for Lambda_c^+ --> Xi(1690)^0 K+ and set an upper limit on the non-resonant decay Lambda_c^+ --> Sigma+ K+ K-. This analysis was performed using 32.6 fb^{-1} of data collected by the Belle detector at the asymmetric e+ e- collider KEKB.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Lett. B. v2: A small correction to the Authorlist was made. An earlier version of this analysis was released as BELLE-CONF-0130, hep-ex/010800

Measurement of the Branching Fraction for B->eta' K and Search for B->eta'pi+

We report measurements for two-body charmless B decays with an eta' meson in the final state. Using 11.1X10^6 BBbar pairs collected with the Belle detector, we find BF(B^+ ->eta'K^+)=(79^+12_-11 +-9)x10^-6 and BF(B^0 -> eta'K^0)=(55^+19_-16 +-8)x10^-6, where the first and second errors are statistical and systematic, respectively. No signal is observed in the mode B^+ -> eta' pi^+, and we set a 90% confidence level upper limit of BF(B^+-> eta'pi^+) eta'K^+- decays is investigated and a limit at 90% confidence level of -0.20<Acp<0.32 is obtained.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters