Mindreading in individuals with an empathizing versus systemizing cognitive style An fMRI study

Our fMRI study compares the neural correlates of face-based mindreading in healthy individuals with an empathizing (n=12) versus systemizing cognitive style (n=12). The empathizing group consists of individuals that score high on empathizing and low on systemizing, while the systemizing group consists of individuals with an opposite cognitive pattern. We hypothesize that the empathizing group will show stronger simulation-type neural activity (e.g., in mirror neuron areas, medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex) or simulation-related neural activity (e.g., in areas involved in perspective taking and experiential processing) compared to the systemizing group. As hypothesized, our study reveals that the empathizing group shows significantly stronger activity in mirror neuron areas of the brain, such as the left inferior frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobe, and in temporal areas involved in perspective taking and autobiographical memory. Moreover, the empathizing group, but not the systemizing group, shows activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex which have been related to simulation-type neural activity in the brain and are central to mindreading. Also, the systemizing group shows significantly stronger activity in the left parahippocampal gyrus. In conclusion, both the empathizing and systemizing individuals show simulation-type and simulation-related neural activity during face-based mindreading. However, more neural activity indicative of simulation-based processing is seen in the empathizing individuals, while more neural activity indicative of non-simulation-based processing is seen in the systemizing individuals

Biometry of late Quaternary coccoliths from the Southern Cadiz region

The Cadiz region lies between the Iberian borderland and Morocco, west of the Strait of Gibraltar and the Western Mediterranean. Core GeoB9064-1 (35°24,91’N 6°50,72’W) is located in the southwest at a depth of 702 m, close to the Al Arraich mud volcano field 30 km off the Moroccan margin„ and has a length of 544 cm. Like most coastal regions, the southern Cadiz region is characterised by a coccolith assemblage dominated by the placoliths Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa muellerae.Late Quaternary fluctuations are pronounced in this core, as shown by geochemical (TOC and CaC03) and XRF analysis (K, Mg, Fe, etc.), but also in abundances of coccoliths and more particularly Emiliania huxleyi. These can be related to upwelling and/or bottom currents.Colmenero-Hidalgo (2002) has split up Emiliania huxleyi in a larger coldwater and smaller warmwater variety based on a 4 µm cut-off value. Colmenero-Hid algo (2004) identified a deglacial decrease in the larger coldwater variety.In this study, 100 Emiliania huxleyi and 100 Gephyrocapsa muellerae lengths were measured in 30 samples. Comparison of the biometry of Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa muellerae shows that these both species have similar fluctuations and both become smaller during the Holocene, revealing the splitting of Emiliania huxleyi in two morphotypes, to be more complex. A new method to tackle this problem is proposed

Acute and life-threatening remifentanil overdose resulting from the misuse of a syringe pump.

In the perioperative setting, syringe pumps are frequently used. They guarantee constant plasma levels of hypnotics, opioids, cardiovascular medication, insulin or other drugs. We present a case in which an inadvertent rapid intravenous injection of 2 mg remifentanil occurred due to the misuse of a syringe pum

Unraveling Scientific Impact

The number of citations a paper receives is the most commonly used measure of scientific impact. In this paper, we study not only the number but also the type of citations that 659 marketing articles generated. We discern five citation types: application, affirmation, negation, review and perfunctory mention (i.e., citing an article only indirectly without really using it). Prior literature in scientometrics recognizes that the former three types, on average, signal a higher level of scientific indebtedness than the latter two types. In our sample, these three types of citation represent only 15% of all citations. We also find different determinants of citation behavior across citation types. Across the 49 determinants we included, only 13 have the same effect across all citation types, of which only 5 are statistically significant across all citation types. For instance, we find a significant inverted U-effect of challenging commonly held beliefs on citations counts, but only for three of the citation types: affirmation, review and perfunctory mention. Our results encourage scientific stakeholders to move beyond mere citation counts to assess a paper’s or a scholar’s scientific contribution, as well as to devote greater attention to the citation process itself

Effects of Spatially Nonuniform Gain on Lasing Modes in Weakly Scattering Random Systems

A study on the effects of optical gain nonuniformly distributed in one-dimensional random systems is presented. It is demonstrated numerically that even without gain saturation and mode competition, the spatial nonuniformity of gain can cause dramatic and complicated changes to lasing modes. Lasing modes are decomposed in terms of the quasi modes of the passive system to monitor the changes. As the gain distribution changes gradually from uniform to nonuniform, the amount of mode mixing increases. Furthermore, we investigate new lasing modes created by nonuniform gain distributions. We find that new lasing modes may disappear together with existing lasing modes, thereby causing fluctuations in the local density of lasing states.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures (quality reduced for arXiv