Sign determination of the 57 Fe electric-field gradient in Al-based crystals and icosahedral quasicrystals

Abstract

The icosahedral quasicrystals i-AIMn, isomorphically substituted by 28 at.% Fe or by a mixture of (CrFe) atoms, have been studied for the first time by in-field Mössbauer spectroscopy in order to determine the sign and asymmetry parameter of the dominant electric-field gradient (EFG) term. In addition, the orthorhombic o-Al(MnFe) and cubic α- and hexagonal β-Al(MnFe)Si crystalline phases have been studied. We show that the previous Mössbauer results are inadequate for determining whether there are two sites in the quasicrystalline structure in the ratio of the golden number. Our results for i-Al(MnFe) show that the dominant EFG is negative, with an asymmetry parameter of about 0·6. For i-Al(CrFe), essentially no deviations are found from the model of Czjzek or the Gaussian isotropic model. One crystalline phase, the hexagonal β phase, is found to have a very similar quadrupole effect to that found in i-Al(MnFe). In addition it is found that this phase undergoes a change which is at least partly of magnetic origin.     

The Soul Cluster: Reconsideration of a Millennia Old Concept

The article presents a comparative analysis of the theories on conceptions of soul in indigenous and early European traditions. The focal point of the study is the observation that the concept of soul is noticeably complex in aboriginal cultures, and its plural—especially tripartite—nature is the rule rather than the exception. Another observation is that the described pluralism, the number of soul components, and their attributes go through speculative changes as the tradition moves away of tribal origins, which have the shamanic state of consciousness as experiential source of knowledge instead of scholarly theorization. A three-network model of human experience is drawn to support the tripartition cum trilocation concept of soul.     

Intending or Pretending? Automatic Evaluations of Goal Cues Discriminate True and False Intentions

This research presents a novel approach to discriminating between true and deceptive statements about intended future behavior. Arguing that true intentions are goal‐directed, we predict that people who genuinely intend to pursue a reported goal will implicitly evaluate goal‐relevant cues positively, whereas people who do not intend to pursue the goal will not. Participants in an experiment were instructed to tell the truth about a planned future behavior (true intention) or to falsely report that same behavior to mask their actual mock‐criminal intention (false intention). As predicted, an evaluative priming task showed that participants with true intention exhibited implicit positive evaluations of cues relevant to the reported goal, whereas participants with false intention did not. Subsequent analyses showed that implicit positivity significantly discriminated between true and false intentions. The findings are discussed in terms of theoretical contributions and implications for the development of future detection tools. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Expect the Unexpected? Variations in Question Type Elicit Cues to Deception in Joint Interviewer Contexts

We examined the effect of (i) a second interviewer's demeanour and (ii) asking expected and unexpected questions on cues to deception. We predicted that liars compared with truth tellers would provide more detail to expected questions and less detail to unexpected questions, particularly when the second interviewer is supportive. Liars prepare answers for expected questions, and a supportive interviewer will encourage them to provide more detail. By definition, liars have not prepared answers for unexpected questions, and their answers to such questions will be less detailed. Participants (N = 168) appeared before two interviewers: The first asked all the questions, and the second remained silent. The second interviewer exhibited either a supportive or a neutral demeanour. As predicted, liars provided more detail to expected questions and less detail to unexpected questions, particularly when the second interviewer was supportive. In conclusion, a supportive second interviewer elicits cues to deceit. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bottled memories: On how alcohol affects eyewitness recall

This study investigated how different doses of alcohol affected eyewitness recall. Participants (N = 126) were randomly assigned to three groups with different blood alcohol concentration (BAC), either a control group (mean BAC 0.00%, N = 42), a lower alcohol dose group (mean BAC 0.04%, N = 40), or a higher alcohol dose group (mean BAC 0.06%, N = 44). After consumption, participants witnessed a movie of a mock crime and were interviewed one week later. The main results showed that witnesses with the higher intoxication level recalled fewer details compared to witnesses with the lower intoxication level. The amount of alcohol consumed did not have an impact on the accuracy rate. No sex differences were found. The results are discussed in the light of past research. We conclude that more studies are needed before recommendations can be made to an applied setting.     

Lifestyle effects of group health education for patients with coronary heart disease

Abstract

In the present study, effects of a health education (INFO) and a PsychoEducational Prevention (INFO + PEP) Programme were Investigated in three hospitals. These programmes were offered to groups of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and their partners alter discharge from hospital. The INFO was offered to 127 CHD patients in addition to FIT (i.e. standard medical care and physical training). The PEP was offered to 90 Patients in, addition to the INFO and FIT. A control group of 122 patients received only FIT. The INFO and the PEP consisted of four weekly two-hour group sessions each. In addition, the PEP was followed by seven telephone follow-up contacts.

On average, patients improved their lifestyles during the first three months. Between three and twelve months an extra improvement was found for eating habits, whereas there was a relapse for smoking and a sedentary lifestyle. In the short term, angina pectoris and a longer period of heart complaints were parallelled with a decrease in the risk of maintaining unhealthy eating habits, whereas in the long term a longer period of heart complaints a younger age and unemployment predicted a lower risk of maintaining unhealthy eating habits In the short term living with a partner and in the long term female gender were predictive of continued smoking behaviour In the short term, older age, a first CABG and a specific hospital setting decreased the risk of a continued sedentary lifestyle.

The FIT + INFO + PEP had a favourable short-term effect on eating habits. For smoking and a sedentary lifestyle, however, there were negative effects. In the short term patients in the FIT +INFO and those in the FIT +INFO+PEP had significantly more problems in quitting a sedentary lifestyle than those in the FIT intervention in the long term, patients in the FIT + INFO had significantly more problems in stopping smoking compared to these in the FIT.     

FERTILITY DIFFERENTIALS AMONG SERBIAN JEWS

Recent studies tend to validate the important role played by culture and especially religion in fertility behaviours. This paper investigates a link between religiosity and fertility among Serbian Jewish populations, namely the Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews. It is found that among Serbian Jews, in spite of general low levels of fertility, religiousness (measured by time devoted to religious activities) and ethnic origin contribute to the fertility differentials. This paper sets out to explore the relationship between religiosity and fertility among Jews in Serbia and whether religiosity has contributed to the fertility differential between the main branches of the Serbian Jewry, namely the Sephardim and Ashkenazim.     

Goal disturbance,coping, and psychological distress in partners of myocardial infarction patients: Taking account of the dyad

Abstract

This study aims to explore the relationship between goal disturbance and levels of psychological distress in partners of myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Furthermore, the role of partner and patient coping behaviour in the context of goal disturbance is explored. Forty dyads were interviewed and completed questionnaires 1 month (T1) and 4 months (T2) post MI. All patients were men. Patients and partners do not differ on anxiety or depression scores, however, patients experience significantly more higher order goal disturbance at T1. Partners reporting more goal disturbance also show increased distress at T1. More use of approach coping by partners contributes to explained variance in their goal disturbance. Partner avoidant coping is moderated by patient avoidant coping. Approaches to reduce distress in partners should thus take account of goal disturbance and coping behaviours within the dyad.     

Static items are automatically prioritized in a dynamic environment

Everyday experience provides us with the intuition that dynamic events guide or capture attention—something which has been confirmed in experimental studies. Recently, we showed that there are limitations to the extent to which dynamic items attract attention. In a visual search task where all items, except one, were dynamic, the dynamic items could be ignored and the static item could be efficiently detected. In the present study we investigated whether attention is automatically drawn to the static item. Three visual search experiments, in which the target and the static object were uncorrelated, revealed that the static item was nevertheless prioritized. This result is at odds with some of the current theories on attentional capture, including the “new object” hypothesis. The current study suggests that differences in dynamics, rather than dynamic features per se, determine where attention is allocated.