Preschoolers' retrospective and prospective judgements of immanent justice following distributive actions

Prior research provided evidence for retrospective and prospective judgements of immanent justice in adults, but the developmental origins of judgements of immanent justice remain unknown. Both retrospective and prospective judgements were investigated in preschool age, using explicit and implicit measures. In Experiment 1, 2.5- and 4-year-olds were first shown events in which one agent distributed resources fairly or unfairly, and then they saw test events in which both distributors were damaged by a misfortune. Later, they were presented with a verbal task, in which they had to respond to two questions on evaluation of the deservingness, by using explicit measures. All children were likely to approve of deserved outcomes when deeds and outcomes were congruent (i.e., unfair distributor-misfortune), and only older ones were likely to disapprove when they were incongruent (i.e., fair distributor-misfortune). In Experiment 2, 4-year-olds after seeing familiarization events of Experiment 1, were presented with two verbal questions to explore prospective judgements of immanent justice, by using explicit measures. In Experiment 3, 4-year-olds were first shown familiarization events of Experiment 1 and listened to respective narratives, then before the outcome was revealed they were assessed with a reaching task to investigate prospective judgements of immanent justice, by using implicit measures. Children reached the image depicting a bad outcome for the unfair distributor, and that illustrated a good outcome for the fair distributor. The results of the last two experiments demonstrated a fine ability to make prospective judgements at 4 years of life, and found that they were to be more prone to apply immanent justice reasoning to positive outcomes following good actions. Taken together, these results provide new evidence for preschoolers' retrospective and prospective judgements of immanent justice.

Reflective functioning and dissociative experiences: A comparison study between adolescents at "high-risk" of psychosis and healthy controls

Background

Despite the established contribution to psychological well-being in young subjects, the investigation of reflective functioning and dissociative experiences in help-seekers adolescents still appears an unmet need.

Objective

The study aimed to assess reflective functioning and dissociative symptoms in help-seekers adolescents, and compare them to gender-matched healthy controls.

Methods

The Reflecting Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) was used to investigate mentalizing; the Adolescent Dissociative Experience Scale (A-DES) was used to explore dissociative symptoms.

Results

The study involved 102 adolescents (mean age 18.06 ± 1.78 years), split into "help-seekers" (N= 51; mean age 19 ± 1.98 years) and healthy controls (N= 51; mean age 17.12 ± 0.84). "Help-seekers" adolescents showed lower RFQ-certainty scores (mean 3.39 ± 2.47), compared to healthy controls (mean 6.73 ± 5.01). Furthermore, "help-seekers" adolescents reported higher scores on RFQ-uncertainty (mean 7.73 ± 4.38), compared to healthy controls (mean 5.14 ± 4.17), which indicates a greater lack of knowledge about mental states (hypomentalizing). Eventually, "help-seekers" adolescents showed significantly worse dissociative symptoms (A-DES total mean score 3.49 ± 2.04), compared to healthy controls (A-DES total mean score 2.06 ± 1.43).

Conclusion

The importance of an assessment in early adolescence denotes a topic of increasing concern, in order to identify failures in reflective functioning and the onset of dissociative experiences among help-seekers adolescents, toward the implementation of tailored psychological interventions.

Sensitivity to the role of an animated agent from observed interactions in newborn chicks (Gallus gallus)

Few month old human infants are able to detect the social roles of artificial agents and consistently choose the object behaving as 'approacher' rather than 'repulser'. This preference has been considered evidence of a pre-linguistic and pre-cultural origin of the social mind. Similar preferences have not been described in other species, though comparative data could help clarify the nature of this phenomenon and its evolutionary origin. In this study, we investigated sensitivity to the social role of an artificial agent in domestic chicks. Birds offer an excellent model to study the evolutionary roots of cognitive abilities, since they separated from mammals over 300 Ma. Moreover, the investigation of newly hatched chicks allows control for previous experience. After being exposed to computer-presented animations depicting an interaction among two agents, chicks underwent a free choice test among those same objects. While no initial evidence of a clear preference emerged from the planned analysis, chicks in the experimental condition showed a preference for the 'approacher' when controlling for side bias, mirroring human infants behaviour. This suggests the existence of an early ability to discriminate agents from their interactions, independent from any social experience.

Evaluations of pro-environmental behaviors by 7-month-old infants

Environmental morality is the foundation of a sustainable future, yet its ontogenetic origin remains unknown. In the present study, we asked whether 7-month-olds have a sense of 'environmental morality'. Infants' evaluations of two pro-environmental actions were assessed in both visual and reaching preferential tasks. In Experiment 1, the overt behavior of protecting (i.e., collecting artificial objects spread on a lawn) was compared with the action of harming the environment (i.e., by disregarding the objects). In Experiment 2, the covert behavior of protecting the environment (i.e., maintaining artificial objects inside a container) was compared with the action of harming the environment (i.e., littering the artificial objects on a lawn). The results showed infants' reaching preference for the agent who performed overt pro-environmental actions (Experiment 1), and no preference for the agent who performed covert pro-environmental actions (Experiment 2). These findings reveal a rudimentary ecological sense and suggest that infants require different abilities to evaluate overt impact-oriented and covert intend-oriented pro-environmental behaviors.

Intention-based evaluations of distributive actions by 4-month-olds

Four-month-olds' ability to consider the intentions of agents performing distributive actions was investigated in four experiments, using the Violation of Expectation paradigm (VoE) (Experiments 1-3) and the Preferential Looking paradigm (Experiment 4). In Experiment 1, infants were presented with two events showing two types of failed attempts to perform a distribution. In an attempt to distribute fairly, the distributor first tried to reach one of the recipients to deliver an apple, he failed, and then attempted to reach the other recipient to deliver a second apple and also failed. In an attempt to distribute unfairly, a different distributor tried unsuccessfully to bring resources always to the same recipient. Infants looked reliably longer at failed fair distribution events, suggesting that they did not just react to the actions outcomes and they attended to agents' intentions. Experiments 2 and 3 assessed alternative explanations based on perceptual factors or affiliative behaviors. In Experiment 4, during the test trials, infants were shown both distributors simultaneously and they preferred to look at the fair rather than at the unfair distributor. Overall, these findings reveal an early ability to take into account distributors' intentions and a preference for watching agents that tried to distribute resources fairly.

Preverbal infants' reactions to third-party punishments and rewards delivered toward fair and unfair agents

Rewarding individuals who distribute resources fairly and punishing those who distribute resources unfairly may be very important actions for fostering cooperation. This study investigated whether 9-month-olds have some expectations concerning punishments and rewards that follow distributive actions. Infants were shown simple animations and were tested using the violation-of-expectation paradigm. In Experiment 1, we found that infants looked longer when they saw a bystander delivering a corporal punishment to a 'fair distributor,' who distributed some windfall resources equally to the possible recipients, rather than to an 'unfair distributor,' who distributed the resources unequally. This pattern of looking times was reversed when, in Experiment 2, punishments were replaced with rewards. These findings suggest an early emergence of expectations about punishing and rewarding actions in third-party contexts, and they help to evaluate competing claims about the origins of a sense of fairness.

Failures in Reflective Functioning, Dissociative Experiences, and Eating Disorder: a Study On a Sample of Italian Adolescents

Although impairments in mentalizing and dissociation have been linked to the onset of eating disorders, there is still a paucity of studies investigating their relationships among adolescents. This study aimed at investigating the role of failures in reflective functioning and dissociation in predicting the risk of eating disorders during adolescence. The Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3), the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ), and the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES) were administered to a sample of 427 adolescents between 13 and 20 years old. Results of correlational analysis showed that the risk of eating disorders was positively correlated with uncertainty about mental states. Eating disorder risk was also inversely correlated with certainty about mental states. Dissociation scores and its domain scores were all positively related to the risk of eating disorders. Results of regression analysis displayed that uncertainty about mental states and dissociation were statistically significant predictors of an increased risk of eating disorders. Gender and BMI were also significant predictors in the final model, which explained 24% of the variance. Regarding the specific dissociative domains, findings indicate that the depersonalization/derealization factor was the only significant predictor for the risk of eating disorder. The present study points out that uncertainty about mental states and dissociation could play a relevant role in increasing the risk of eating disorders during adolescence.

Infants' preferences for approachers over repulsers shift between 4 and 8 months of age

Despite its adaptive value for social life, the emergence and the development of the ability to detect agents that cause aversive interactions and distinguish them from potentially affiliative agents (approachers) has not been investigated. We presented infants with a simple interaction involving two agents: one of them (the "repulser") moved toward and pushed the other (the "approacher") which reacted by simply moving toward the repulser without contacting it. We found that 8-month-olds (N = 28) looked longer at the approacher than at the repulser (Experiment 1), whereas 4-month-olds (N = 30) exhibited no preference (Experiment 2). To control for low-level cues (such as the preference for the agent that moved after the contact), two new groups of 4- and 8-month-old infants were presented with a series of interactions in which the agents inverted their social roles. Older infants (N = 30) manifested no preference for either agent (Experiment 3), while younger infants (N = 30) looked longer at the first agent to move (Experiment 4). Our results indicated that 8-month-olds' preferences for the approacher over the repulser depended on social information and were finely tuned to agents that display prosocial rather than antisocial behavior. We discuss these findings in light of the development and adaptive value of the ability to negatively evaluate repulsers, to avoid choosing them as partners.

Infants' intention-based evaluations of distributive actions

Recent research revealed that infants attend to agents' intentions when they evaluate helping actions. The current study investigated whether infants also consider agents' intentions when they evaluate distributive actions. In Experiment 1, 9-month-old infants were first shown two failed attempts to perform a distribution. In the "failed equal distribution," the distributor first tried to reach one of the recipients to deliver an apple, failed, and then attempted to reach the other possible recipient to deliver a different apple and also failed. In the "failed unequal distribution," a different distributor always tried unsuccessfully to reach the same beneficiary. Then, in the test phase, infants were presented with the two distributors side by side, and infants' spontaneous preferential looking and reaching actions were recorded. We found a reliable preference for the equal distributor in both the visual and manual responses. Experiments 2 and 3 helped to rule out alternative explanations based on perceptual cues and affiliative biases. Overall, these findings suggest that infants' ability to evaluate distributive actions relies not only on the outcomes but also on the distributors' intentions.

Toddlers' expectations of third-party punishments and rewards following an act of aggression

Rewarding someone who defends the victim of an unjust aggression and punishing someone who chose not to defend her may be very important acts of reciprocation in social life. This study investigates whether 21-month-olds have some expectations concerning such punishing and rewarding actions. Infants were shown simple puppet shows and were tested using the violation-of-expectation paradigm. In Experiment 1, we found that infants looked longer when they saw a bystander puppet punishing the puppet who defended the victim rather than the puppet who did not defend her. This pattern of looking times was reversed when the punishing action was replaced with a rewarding action (Experiment 2). These findings reveal early-emerging expectations about punitive and reward motivations in third-party contexts, and provide some support for theoretical claims about the hardwiring of the human mind for cooperation and prosociality.

Toddlers' expectations of corporal third-party punishments against the non-defender puppet

Recent research has demonstrated that toddlers expect individuals to approach and reward those who defend a victim from an aggressor rather than those who refuse to do so. This work focused on toddlers' expectations of corporal third-party punishments trought various actions, such as hitting with a stick or repelling someone who refused to defend a social partner following aggression. Using a violation of expectation paradigm (VoE), three experiments were carried out to investigate whether 21-month-olds expect others to apply different kinds of corporal punishments against the non-defender puppet (expected event) rather than the defender puppet (unexpected event), showing a bystander hitting with a stick (Experiment 1) or pushing strongly (Experiment 3) each of the two puppets. In both experiments, toddlers showed to be surprised whent the saw the bystander punish by hitting or pushing the defender puppet rather the non-defender puppet. In a control experiment displaying a non-social condition (Experiment 2), in which the victim puppets were replaced by two inert boxes, toddlers showed no expectation. These results uncovered that toddlers expect others to engage in different corporal punishments toward those who refuse to defend a social partner from an aggressor, by revealing that these expectations are not specific to a single type of punishment. The findings raise questions about the development of corporal third-party punishments, and have implications for the theory on ontogenetic processes underlying sociomoral development.

Burden of an educational program on end of life management in a Internal Medicine ward: a real life report

Background and aim

Appropriate end of life (EOL) management in Internal Medicine wards is challanging. The aim of this study was to analyze the burden of an educational program on EOL management in a Internal Medicine ward. Materials and methods: We retrospectively analysed characteristics and management of patients consecutively died in an italian Internal Medicine ward along one year. We compared demographic, co-morbidity, pharmacological treatment in the last 48-hours of life and procedures during hospital stay in patients died six months before and after an educational program on palliative cares and EOL management addressed to a team of physicians and nurses.

Results

Study population was composed by 354 patients (190 females), with mean age ± DS 83.5 ± 10.6 years, one half admitted after the educational program. Eighty-four percent of deaths was exepected in the last 48 hours before exitus. Demographic characteristics and causes of hospitalization were not different before and after educational program. After the educational program the sharing of palliative care program with patient, relatives and/or caregivers (97.7% vs 85.8%, p=0.0001) and written order to withdrawal vital parameters relevation (39.5% vs 22%, p=0.0005) significantly increased, while difference in pharmacological classes prescribed in the last 48 hours of life was not find. Blood (54.8% vs 67.2%, p=0.0219) and arterial gas analysis (28.8% vs 39.5%, p=0.0435) samples in the last 48 hours of life were significantly reduced. Radiological and/or endoscopic examinations, red cells or platelets transfusion were reduced and palliative therapy was increased, despite difference between the two periods was not statistically significant.

Conclusion

Educational program in Internal Medicine wards aimed to improve skills could contribute to make EOL management more appropriate and patient-oriented and it should be strongly encour-aged.

Ethnobotany of dye plants in Southern Italy, Mediterranean Basin: floristic catalog and two centuries of analysis of traditional botanical knowledge heritage

BACKGROUND

Since ancient times, man has learned to use plants to obtain natural dyes, but this traditional botanical knowledge (TBK) is eroding. In the late, during, and the early 1800s, there was an increase in research related to dye species, and this allowed the development of industry and economy in rural contexts of Southern Italy. Today, dyes are mainly obtained from synthetic products, and this leads to risks for human health related to pollution.

METHODS

Starting from the literature, three catalogs of the dyeing species (plants, algae, fungi, and lichens) used in the Mediterranean Basin and mainly in Southern Italy have been created. Percentages of parts used and colors extracted from species have been recorded and analyzed. The plant species present in the catalogs have been verified in the territories of Southern Italy, and the data have been registered. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted, in the region of Southern Italy, to verify the erosion level of traditional botanical knowledge, linked to the ethnobotanical dyeing, over time.

RESULTS

A total of 524 species were recorded among plants, algae, fungi, and lichens, and related parts used and extracted pigments. Most uses concern the stems and leaves, and the most frequent color is yellow. From the on-field survey operations, 283 plant species have been verified. These represent 64.31% of the species reported in the flora of the dye plants produced. The results, from the ethnobotanical survey, show that only 8.6% of TBK remained in the collective memory.

CONCLUSIONS

This catalog is among the largest in this sector and is the basis for studies related to the restoration of an eco-sustainable economy which would allow the development of marginal areas present throughout Southern Italy.

Spontaneous rupture of the digital extensor tendons of the hand in unrecognized carpal lunatefracture

Spontaneous rupture of the digital extensor tendons of the hand has been reported after Kienbocks disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Vaughan-Jackson syndrome, distal radial fracture. Rupture may also occur as a consequence of unrecognized carpal lunate fracture. We present a case report of a man affected with spontaneous rupture of the digital extensor tendons secondary to unrecognized carpal lunate fracture with partial dorsal dislocation. The edges of the tendon were debrided and sutured using a locked modified Kessler suture. A dynamic splinting cast was applied in moderate extension of the wrist. The aim of this case report is to highlight that in absence of a clear etiology for rupture of the extensor tendons of the hand, carpal lunate fracture, though rare, is an important cause of spontaneous extensor tendons rupture.

Photon counting with photon number resolution through superconducting nanowires coupled to a multi-channel TDC in FPGA

The paper presents a system for measuring photon statistics and photon timing in the few-photon regime down to the single-photon level. The measurement system is based on superconducting nanowire single photon detectors and a time-to-digital converter implemented into a programmable device. The combination of these devices gives high performance to the system in terms of resolution and adaptability to the actual experimental conditions. As a case of application, we present the measurement of photon statistics for coherent light states. In this measurement, we make use of 8th order single photon correlations to reconstruct with high fidelity the statistics of a coherent state with average photon number up to 4. The processing is performed by means of a tapped-delay-line time-to-digital converter architecture that also hosts an asynchronous-correlated-digital-counter implemented in a field programmable gate array device and specifically designed for performance optimization in multi-channel usage.

The therapeutic activity of sulphate-bicarbonate-calcium-magnesiac mineral water in the functional disorders of the biliary tract

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Functional disorders of the biliary tract involve gallbladder and sphincter of Oddi and cause pain and/or digestive troubles. In this context, in addition to pharmacological treatments, an important role is played by the use of sodium-sulphate and sulphate-bicarbonate mineral waters that, because of their composition into ions macro and trace elements, can stimulate the release or modulate the activity of some neurohumoral regulators of the digestive process. We want to do a study on the effects of hydropinotherapy with a sulphate-bicarbonate-calcium-magnesium mineral water in patients suffering from pain and other symptoms caused by biliary dyskinesias, biliary sand (without gallstones), or following a cholecystectomy (post-cholecystectomy syndromes).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We enrolled 43 patients suffering from those affections; all the patients did two cycles in one year of hydropinotherapy with Acqua Santa at Italy's Chianciano Spa; 20 of these patients did a third cycle of hydropinotherapy in the second year of the study. At the end of the second and of the third cycle we compared the frequency of eleven main symptoms in both groups and we also performed an longitudinal-observational study on the frequency of those symptoms before the beginning of the first cycle of the therapy and at the end of the second and of the third cycle. Statistical analyses were based on the use of Pearson's χ2 test.

RESULTS

The frequency of the symptoms observed at the end of second and third cicle of hydropinotherapy was significantly lower than that considered before starting therapy. The differences were statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of our research regarding the hydropinotherapy by sulphate-bicarbonate-calcium-magnesium mineral water show a significant improvement of symptoms in patients suffering from disturbances of biliary tract.

Search for long-lived heavy charged particles using a ring imaging Cherenkov technique at LHCb

A search is performed for heavy long-lived charged particles using 3.0 [Formula: see text] of proton-proton collisions collected at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text] 7 and 8  TeV with the LHCb detector. The search is mainly based on the response of the ring imaging Cherenkov detectors to distinguish the heavy, slow-moving particles from muons. No evidence is found for the production of such long-lived states. The results are expressed as limits on the Drell-Yan production of pairs of long-lived particles, with both particles in the LHCb pseudorapidity acceptance, [Formula: see text]. The mass-dependent cross-section upper limits are in the range 2-4 fb (at 95 % CL) for masses between 14 and 309 [Formula: see text].

First observation of top quark production in the forward region

Top quark production in the forward region in proton-proton collisions is observed for the first time. The W+b final state with W→μν is reconstructed using muons with a transverse momentum, p_{T}, larger than 25 GeV in the pseudorapidity range 2.0<η<4.5. The b jets are required to have 50<p_{T}<100  GeV and 2.2<η<4.2, while the transverse component of the sum of the muon and b-jet momenta must satisfy p_{T}>20  GeV. The results are based on data corresponding to integrated luminosities of 1.0 and 2.0  fb^{-1} collected at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV by LHCb. The inclusive top quark production cross sections in the fiducial region are σ(top)[7  TeV]=239±53(stat)±33(syst)±24(theory)  fb,σ(top)[8  TeV]=289±43(stat)±40(syst)±29(theory)  fb.These results, along with the observed differential yields and charge asymmetries, are in agreement with next-to-leading order standard model predictions.

Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions B(B[over ¯]^{0}→D^{*+}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B[over ¯]^{0}→D^{*+}μ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ})

The branching fraction ratio R(D^{*})≡B(B[over ¯]^{0}→D^{*+}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B[over ¯]^{0}→D^{*+}μ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ}) is measured using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0  fb^{-1} of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode τ^{-}→μ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ}ν_{τ}. The semitauonic decay is sensitive to contributions from non-standard-model particles that preferentially couple to the third generation of fermions, in particular, Higgs-like charged scalars. A multidimensional fit to kinematic distributions of the candidate B[over ¯]^{0} decays gives R(D^{*})=0.336±0.027(stat)±0.030(syst). This result, which is the first measurement of this quantity at a hadron collider, is 2.1 standard deviations larger than the value expected from lepton universality in the standard model.

Observation of J/ψp Resonances Consistent with Pentaquark States in Λ_{b}^{0}→J/ψK^{-}p Decays

Observations of exotic structures in the J/ψp channel, which we refer to as charmonium-pentaquark states, in Λ_{b}^{0}→J/ψK^{-}p decays are presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb^{-1} acquired with the LHCb detector from 7 and 8 TeV pp collisions. An amplitude analysis of the three-body final state reproduces the two-body mass and angular distributions. To obtain a satisfactory fit of the structures seen in the J/ψp mass spectrum, it is necessary to include two Breit-Wigner amplitudes that each describe a resonant state. The significance of each of these resonances is more than 9 standard deviations. One has a mass of 4380±8±29 MeV and a width of 205±18±86 MeV, while the second is narrower, with a mass of 4449.8±1.7±2.5 MeV and a width of 39±5±19 MeV. The preferred J^{P} assignments are of opposite parity, with one state having spin 3/2 and the other 5/2.

Observation of the B(s)(0)→η'η' Decay

The first observation of the B(s)(0)→η'η' decay is reported. The study is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to 3.0  fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb detector. The significance of the signal is 6.4 standard deviations. The branching fraction is measured to be [3.31±0.64(stat)±0.28(syst)±0.12(norm)]×10(-5), where the third uncertainty comes from the B(±)→η'K(±) branching fraction that is used as a normalization. In addition, the charge asymmetries of B(±)→η'K(±) and B(±)→ϕK(±), which are control channels, are measured to be (-0.2±1.3)% and (+1.7±1.3)%, respectively. All results are consistent with theoretical expectations.

Measurement of CP Violation in B0→J/ψK{S}^{0} Decays

Measurements are presented of the CP violation observables S and C in the decays of B(0) and Bover ¯]0 mesons to the J/ψK(S)(0) final state. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3.0  fb(-1) collected with the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, and contains a total of 41 560 selected B^{0} and B[over ¯]^{0} decays. The analysis of the time evolution of these decays yields S=0.731±0.035(stat)±0.020(syst) and C=-0.038±0.032(stat)±0.005(syst). In the standard model, S equals sin(2β) to a good level of precision. The values are consistent with the current world averages and with the standard model expectations.

Measurement of the [Formula: see text] production cross-section in proton-proton collisions via the decay [Formula: see text]

The production of the [Formula: see text] state in proton-proton collisions is probed via its decay to the [Formula: see text] final state with the LHCb detector, in the rapidity range [Formula: see text] and in the meson transverse-momentum range [Formula: see text]. The cross-section for prompt production of [Formula: see text] mesons relative to the prompt [Formula: see text] cross-section is measured, for the first time, to be [Formula: see text] at a centre-of-mass energy [Formula: see text] using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.7 fb[Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] using 2.0 fb[Formula: see text]. The uncertainties quoted are, in order, statistical, systematic, and that on the ratio of branching fractions of the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] decays to the [Formula: see text] final state. In addition, the inclusive branching fraction of [Formula: see text]-hadron decays into [Formula: see text] mesons is measured, for the first time, to be [Formula: see text], where the third uncertainty includes also the uncertainty on the [Formula: see text] inclusive branching fraction from [Formula: see text]-hadron decays. The difference between the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] meson masses is determined to be [Formula: see text].

Search for long-lived particles decaying to jet pairs

A search is presented for long-lived particles with a mass between 25 and 50 [Formula: see text] and a lifetime between 1 and 200[Formula: see text] in a sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.62 [Formula: see text], collected by the LHCb detector. The particles are assumed to be pair-produced by the decay of a standard model-like Higgs boson. The experimental signature of the long-lived particle is a displaced vertex with two associated jets. No excess above the background is observed and limits are set on the production cross-section as a function of the long-lived particle mass and lifetime.

Measurement of Bc+ Production in Proton-Proton Collisions at √[s]=8 TeV

Production of Bc+ mesons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV is studied with data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.0  fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment. The ratio of production cross sections times branching fractions between the Bc+→J/ψπ+ and B+→J/ψK+ decays is measured as a function of transverse momentum and rapidity in the regions 0<pT<20  GeV/c and 2.0<y<4.5. The ratio in this kinematic range is measured to be (0.683±0.018±0.009)%, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.

Giving and taking: representational building blocks of active resource-transfer events in human infants

Active resource transfer is a pervasive and distinctive feature of human sociality. We hypothesized that humans possess an action schema of giving specific for representing social interactions based on material exchange, and specified the set of necessary assumptions about giving events that this action schema should be equipped with. We tested this proposal by investigating how 12-month-old infants interpret abstract resource-transfer events. Across eight looking-time studies using a violation-of-expectation paradigm we found that infants were able to distinguish between kinematically identical giving and taking actions. Despite the surface similarity between these two actions, only giving was represented as an object-mediated social interaction. While we found no evidence that infants expected the target of a giving or taking action to reciprocate, the present results suggest that infants interpret giving as an inherently social action, which they can possibly use to map social relations via observing resource-transfer episodes.

Observation of two new Ξ(b)(-) baryon resonances

Two structures are observed close to the kinematic threshold in the Ξ(b)(0)π(-) mass spectrum in a sample of proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0  fb(-1), recorded by the LHCb experiment. In the quark model, two baryonic resonances with quark content bds are expected in this mass region: the spin-parity J(P)=(1/2)(+) and J(P)=(3/2)(+) states, denoted Ξ(b)('-) and Ξ(b)(*-). Interpreting the structures as these resonances, we measure the mass differences and the width of the heavier state to be m(Ξ(b)('-))-m(Ξ(b)(0))-m(π(-))=3.653±0.018±0.006  MeV/c(2), m(Ξ(b)(*-))-m(Ξ(b)(0))-m(π(-))=23.96±0.12±0.06  MeV/c(2), Γ(Ξ(b)(*-))=1.65±0.31±0.10  MeV, where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The width of the lighter state is consistent with zero, and we place an upper limit of Γ(Ξ(b)('-))<0.08  MeV at 95% confidence level. Relative production rates of these states are also reported.

Precision measurement of CP violation in B(S)(0)→J/ΨK+K- decays

The time-dependent CP asymmetry in B(s)(0)→J/ψK+K- decays is measured using pp collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0  fb-1, collected with the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. In a sample of 96,000 B(s)(0)→J/ψK+K- decays, the CP-violating phase ϕs is measured, as well as the decay widths ΓL and ΓH of the light and heavy mass eigenstates of the B(s)(0)-B[over ¯]s0 system. The values obtained are ϕs=-0.058±0.049±0.006  rad, Γs≡(ΓL+ΓH)/2=0.6603±0.0027±0.0015  ps-1, and ΔΓs≡ΓL-ΓH=0.0805±0.0091±0.0032  ps-1, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second, systematic. These are the most precise single measurements of those quantities to date. A combined analysis with Bs0→J/ψπ+π- decays gives ϕs=-0.010±0.039  rad. All measurements are in agreement with the standard model predictions. For the first time, the phase ϕs is measured independently for each polarization state of the K+K- system and shows no evidence for polarization dependence.

Measurement of the semileptonic CP asymmetry in B0-B[over ¯]0 mixing

The semileptonic CP asymmetry in B0-B[over ¯]0 mixing, a(sl)(d), is measured in proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0  fb-1, recorded by the LHCb experiment. Semileptonic B0 decays are reconstructed in the inclusive final states D-μ+ and D*-μ+, where the D- meson decays into the K+π-π- final state and the D*- meson into the D[over ¯]0(→K+π-)π- final state. The asymmetry between the numbers of D(*)-μ+ and D(*)+μ- decays is measured as a function of the decay time of the B0 mesons. The CP asymmetry is measured to be a(sl)(d)=(-0.02±0.19±0.30)%, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. This is the most precise measurement of a(sl)(d) to date and is consistent with the prediction from the standard model.

Precision measurement of the mass and lifetime of the Ξb⁻ baryon

We report on measurements of the mass and lifetime of the Ξ(b)⁻ baryon using about 1800 Ξ(b)⁻ decays reconstructed in a proton-proton collision data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0  fb⁻¹ collected by the LHCb experiment. The decays are reconstructed in the Ξ(b)⁻→Ξ(c)⁰π⁻, Ξ(c)⁰→pK⁻K⁻π⁺ channel and the mass and lifetime are measured using the Λ(b)⁰→Λ(c)⁺π⁻ mode as a reference. We measure M(Ξ(b)⁻)-M(Λ(b)⁰)=178.36±0.46±0.16  MeV/c², (τ(Ξ(b)⁻)/τ(Λ(b)⁰)=1.089±0.026±0.011, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. These results lead to a factor of 2 better precision on the Ξ(b)⁻ mass and lifetime compared to previous best measurements, and are consistent with theoretical expectations.

Measurement of the CP-violating phase ϕs in Bs(0)→Ds(+)Ds(-) decays

We present a measurement of the CP-violating weak mixing phase ϕs using the decay Bs(0)→Ds(+)Ds(-) in a data sample corresponding to 3.0 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb detector in pp collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. An analysis of the time evolution of the system, which does not use the constraint |λ|=1 to allow for the presence of CP violation in decay, yields ϕs=0.02±0.17(stat)±0.02(syst)  rad, |λ|=0.91(-0.15)(+0.18)(stat)±0.02(syst). This result is consistent with the standard model expectation.

Observation of overlapping spin-1 and spin-3 D0K- resonances at mass 2.86 GeV/c2

The resonant substructure of B(s)(0) → D(0)K(-)π(+) decays is studied using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1) of pp collision data recorded by the LHCb detector. An excess at m(D(0)K(-))≈ 2.86 GeV/c(2) is found to be an admixture of spin-1 and spin-3 resonances. Therefore, the D(sJ)*(2860)(-) state previously observed in inclusive e(+)e(-) → D(0)K(-)X and pp → D(0)K(-)X processes consists of at least two particles. This is the first observation of a heavy flavored spin-3 resonance, and the first time that any spin-3 particle has been seen to be produced in B decays. The masses and widths of the new states and of the D(s2)*(2573)(-) meson are measured, giving the most precise determinations to date.

First observation of a baryonic Bc+ decay

A baryonic decay of the B(c)(+) meson, B(c)(+) → J/ψppπ(+), is observed for the first time, with a significance of 7.3 standard deviations, in pp collision data collected with the LHCb detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1) taken at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. With the B(c)(+) → J/ψπ(+) decay as the normalization channel, the ratio of branching fractions is measured to be B(B(c)(+) → J/ψppπ(+))/B(B(c)(+) → J/ψπ(+)) = 0.143(-0.034)(+0.039)(stat) ± 0.013(syst). The mass of the B(c)(+) meson is determined as M(B(c)(+) = 6274.0 ± 1.8(stat) ± 0.4(syst) MeV/c(2), using the B(c)(+) → J/ψppπ(+) channel.

Digital configurable instrument for emulation of signals from radiation detectors

The paper presents a digital instrument characterized by a specially designed architecture that is able to emulate in real time signals from a generic radiation detection system. The instrument is not a pulse generator of recorded shapes but a synthesizer of random pulses compliant to programmable statistics for height and starting time of events. Completely programmable procedures for emulation of noise, disturbances, and reference level variation are implemented.

Towards An Improvement of Hospital Services and Streamlining of Health Care Costs: The DRG Analysis in Italy

The term Diagnosis-related Group (DRG) refers to a classification system used to assess hospital services with the aim of a better management of health care costs and improving performance. The DRG system focuses on the utilization of resources, and is not concerned with the specific type of care provided to the patient. This system highlights any diseconomies and eventual critical aspects of the hospital system. This article, starting from the history of heath care financing in Italy and pointing out the difficulty to define the "quality" of health care services, describes the variables used to evaluate correctly hospital performance based on the DRG system. These include Average Length of Stay, Average Daily Patient Load, Comparative Performance Index, and Case Mix Index.

Inferential reasoning: comparison of patients with schizophrenia and patients with traumatic brain injury

We investigated the cognitive processes underlying inferential reasoning, comparing performance of patients suffering from schizophrenia with that of patients with brain injury in an attempt to understand the nature of the social impairments in schizophrenia. Inferential reasoning on mental and physical states and second-order false belief attribution were assessed in healthy controls, in patients with schizophrenia and in brain trauma patients with predominantly ventromedial prefrontal cortex or dosolateral prefrontal cortex lesions. Our finding that ventromedial prefrontal areas are involved in general inferential reasoning casts further light on the neural structures implicated in socio-cognitive impairments in schizophrenia.

P01-248-Theory of mind, moral judgments and neuropsychological functioning in patients with bipolar disorders

Introduction

Several studies revealed that cognitive functioning in BPD are impaired not only in the acute phase but over time (Mur et al., 2008). On Theory of Mind (ToM) recent studies found a impairment of this ability in remitted patients, supporting the theory that ToM deficits are trait-dependent (Bora et al., 2009) in contrast with another study that suggest a partially dependence(Wolf et al. 2010).

Objectives

We explored: a) ToM in BPD investigating two cognitive processes: emotional recognition, second order beliefs attribution; b) Moral judgments in BPD; c) possible effects of neuropsychological functioning on ToM task and moral dilemmas.

Aims

The principal aim is to investigate the domain specificity of ToM and Moral sense, studying selective impairments.

Method

A total of 20 patients with bipolar I disorder were tested and 20 healthy controls. We use a complete neuropsychological assessment, two ToM tasks (Eyes test, Sullivan's stories) and we added two moral dilemmas to asses moral judgment Results: We found ToM deficits in BDP, with a multiple correlation between ToM and neuropsychological functioning. Also we found for the first time a impairment on personal moral dilemma, with a correlation between emotional recognition and moral judgments.

Conclusion

Patients with BPD are impaired in ToM partially independent of other cognitive dysfunctions and in moral reasoning.