The N270 as an index of consumer commodity color preference in the S1-S2 paradigm.

Introduction: Affective decision-making is a prominent topic in consumer psychology research, with its core assumption being that consumers tend to purchase brands and commodities they like. However, the reasons behind why we develop emotional responses of liking or disliking toward certain commodities, as well as what the underlying neural mechanisms are, remain largely unknown. Methods: This study utilized the S1-S2 paradigm in an experiment wherein S1 presented 12 types of commodities and S2 displayed 48 distinct colored squares. Participants were instructed to assess whether they "Like" or "Dislike" the commodity in S1, which was colored with the S2 color. Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were obtained during the reaction process and subsequently analyzed to examine the components of S2-induced event-related potentials (ERPs). Results: The analysis revealed that S2 elicited a significant N270 in the prefrontal scalp area under both the "Like" and "Dislike" conditions. Interestingly, the amplitude of the N270 was significantly higher during the "Dislike" condition compared to the "Like" condition. Discussion: The N270 component was shown to reflect the conflict in physical attributes between S1 and S2, as well as the conflict between commodity and color. This highlights the potential utility of this component as an objective EEG indicator of consumer commodity color preferences in future marketing research.

X-ray optics for the cavity-based X-ray free-electron laser.

A cavity-based X-ray free-electron laser (CBXFEL) is a possible future direction in the development of fully coherent X-ray sources. CBXFELs consist of a low-emittance electron source, a magnet system with several undulators and chicanes, and an X-ray cavity. The X-ray cavity stores and circulates X-ray pulses for repeated FEL interactions with electron pulses until the FEL reaches saturation. CBXFEL cavities require low-loss wavefront-preserving optical components: near-100%-reflectivity X-ray diamond Bragg-reflecting crystals, outcoupling devices such as thin diamond membranes or X-ray gratings, and aberration-free focusing elements. In the framework of the collaborative CBXFEL research and development project of Argonne National Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and SPring-8, we report here the design, manufacturing and characterization of X-ray optical components for the CBXFEL cavity, which include high-reflectivity diamond crystal mirrors, a diamond drumhead crystal with thin membranes, beryllium refractive lenses and channel-cut Si monochromators. All the designed optical components have been fully characterized at the Advanced Photon Source to demonstrate their suitability for the CBXFEL cavity application.

Intervention Effect of Group Sensory Integration Training on Social Responsiveness and N170 Event-Related Potential of Children with Autism.

The objective of this study was to examine the intervention effect of group sensory integration training on social responsiveness, and the latency and amplitude of N170 event-related potential of children with autism. The social responsiveness scale was employed to assess alterations in the social response of individuals with ASD before and after training, while event-related potentials were utilized to measure changes in N170 latency and amplitude. This study revealed that group sensory integration training can significantly enhance social responsiveness in children diagnosed with ASD. Children with ASD exhibit atypical N170 responses to faces in the right parietal region. The latency of N170 changes may serve as a valuable indicator for assessing the effectiveness of an intervention or diagnosing ASD.

Resonant X-ray excitation of the nuclear clock isomer 45Sc.

Resonant oscillators with stable frequencies and large quality factors help us to keep track of time with high precision. Examples range from quartz crystal oscillators in wristwatches to atomic oscillators in atomic clocks, which are, at present, our most precise time measurement devices1. The search for more stable and convenient reference oscillators is continuing2-6. Nuclear oscillators are better than atomic oscillators because of their naturally higher quality factors and higher resilience against external perturbations7-9. One of the most promising cases is an ultra-narrow nuclear resonance transition in 45Sc between the ground state and the 12.4-keV isomeric state with a long lifetime of 0.47 s (ref. 10). The scientific potential of 45Sc was realized long ago, but applications require 45Sc resonant excitation, which in turn requires accelerator-driven, high-brightness X-ray sources11 that have become available only recently. Here we report on resonant X-ray excitation of the 45Sc isomeric state by irradiation of Sc-metal foil with 12.4-keV photon pulses from a state-of-the-art X-ray free-electron laser and subsequent detection of nuclear decay products. Simultaneously, the transition energy was determined as [Formula: see text] with an uncertainty that is two orders of magnitude smaller than the previously known values. These advancements enable the application of this isomer in extreme metrology, nuclear clock technology, ultra-high-precision spectroscopy and similar applications.

The establishment of the general microexpression recognition ability and its relevant brain activity.

Microexpressions are very transitory expressions lasting about 1/25∼1/2 s, which can reveal people's true emotions they try to hide or suppress. The PREMERT (pseudorandom ecological microexpression recognition test) could test the individual's microexpression recognition ability with six microexpression Ms (the mean of accuracy rates of a microexpression type under six expression backgrounds), and six microexpression SDs (the standard deviation of accuracy rates of this microexpression type under six expression backgrounds), but it and other studies did not explore the general microexpression recognition ability (the GMERA) or could not test the GMERA effectively. Therefore, the current study put forward and established the GMERA with the behavioral data of the PREMERT. The spontaneous brain activity in the resting state is a stable index to measure individual cognitive characteristics. Therefore, the current study explored the relevant resting-state brain activity of the GMERA indicators to prove that GMERA is an individual cognitive characteristic from brain mechanisms with the neuroimaging data of the PREMERT. The results showed that (1) there was a three-layer hierarchical structure in human microexpression recognition ability: The GMERA (the highest layer); recognition of a type of microexpression under different expression backgrounds (the second layer); and recognition of a certain microexpression under a certain expression background (the third layer). A common factor GMERA was extracted from the six microexpression types recognition in PREMERT. Four indicators of the GMERA were calculated from six microexpression Ms and six microexpression SDs, such as GMERAL (level of GMERA), GMERAF (fluctuation of GMERA), GMERAB (background effect of GMERA), and GMERABF (fluctuation of GMERAB), which had good parallel-forms reliability, calibration validity, and ecological validity. The GMERA provided a concise and comprehensive overview of the individual's microexpression recognition ability. The PREMERT was proved as a good test to measure the GMERA. (2) ALFFs (the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations) in both eyes-closed and eyes-opened resting-states and ALFFs-difference could predict the four indicators of the GMERA. The relevant resting-state brain areas were some areas of the expression recognition network, the microexpression consciousness and attention network, and the motor network for the change from expression backgrounds to microexpression. (3) The relevant brain areas of the GMERA and different types of microexpression recognition belonged to the three cognitive processes, but the relevant brain areas of the GMERA were the "higher-order" areas to be more concise and critical than those of different types of microexpression recognition.

Exploring an online method of measuring implicit sequence-learning consciousness.

Existing methods for measuring implicit sequence-learning consciousness are conducted offline. Based on the traditional measurement of cued-generation task, this study implemented an online measurement method by converting a generation task into a forced-choice task to observe the dynamic changes of consciousness in the implicit sequence-learning process. In this study, we compared the performance of online measurement task and traditional sequence-learning tasks in 31 university students. The results revealed that the online indicators were significantly correlated with classic consciousness indicators and typical ERP components of consciousness. Without affecting the development of consciousness, the online measurement indicators were found to promptly and effectively reflect the gradually changing progression of consciousness in implicit sequence learning.

Effects of Tai Chi and Walking Exercise on Emotional Face Recognition in Elderly People: An ERP Study.

Both tai chi and walking can improve the physical health of the elderly, but the effect on the emotional cognitive function of the elderly is unclear. To investigate the effect of long-term walking and tai chi exercise on the emotional cognitive function of the elderly, 63 subjects were recruited in this study according to age and exercise habits, including 16 in the youth control group, 15 in the elderly non-exercise control group, 17 in the elderly walking group, and 18 in the elderly tai chi group. The "learning-test paradigm" of emotional faces was used to measure the subjects' ability to recognize and remember emotional (negative and neutral) faces. Behavioral and EEG data were recorded during the learning and testing phases. The results showed that there is aging in emotional cognition in older adults compared with younger adults. Long-term walking and tai chi exercise can delay the deterioration of emotional cognitive function in older adults to some extent. Both walking and tai chi exercise can delay the decline in aging-related emotional face recognition function to some extent. Walking exercise can delay the decline in aging-related emotional face memory function to some extent.

Fast X-ray Nanotomography with Sub-10 nm Resolution as a Powerful Imaging Tool for Nanotechnology and Energy Storage Applications.

In the last decade, transmission X-ray microscopes (TXMs) have come into operation in most of the synchrotrons worldwide. They have proven to be outstanding tools for non-invasive ex and in situ 3D characterization of materials at the nanoscale across varying range of scientific applications. However, their spatial resolution has not improved in many years, while newly developed functional materials and microdevices with enhanced performances exhibit nanostructures always finer. Here, optomechanical breakthroughs leading to fast 3D tomographic acquisitions (85 min) with sub-10 nm spatial resolution, narrowing the gap between X-ray and electron microscopy, are reported. These new achievements are first validated with 3D characterizations of nanolithography objects corresponding to ultrahigh-aspect-ratio hard X-ray zone plates. Then, this powerful technique is used to investigate the morphology and conformality of nanometer-thick film electrodes synthesized by atomic layer deposition and magnetron sputtering deposition methods on 3D silicon scaffolds for electrochemical energy storage applications.

Emotional valence modulates arithmetic strategy execution in priming paradigm: an event-related potential study.

Combined with the prime paradigm, the present study aimed to explore the influence of emotion (anger, fear, happiness, and neutral) on performing multiplication estimation. Participants were asked to complete a two-digit multiplication estimation task using the down-up strategy (e.g., doing 20 × 80 = 1600 for 24 × 79). Behavioral results showed that the reaction time for completing multiplication estimation tasks under happy conditions was shorter than for those under anger and fear, and it was shorter under neutral than under fearful conditions. The ERP results showed that about 100 ms after multiplication estimation task onset, multiplication estimation execution in the context of happiness (vs. neutral) elicited smaller P1 amplitudes; about 170 ms after multiplication estimation task onset, the N170 amplitudes elicited by multiplication estimation strategy execution under different emotional priming conditions showed no significant differences. The above results showed that the impact of emotion priming demonstrates the occurrence of a dynamic process when participants use a specified strategy to complete the multiplication estimation task. The present study revealed that emotional valence modulated arithmetic strategy execution, suggesting the role of different emotions should be fully considered in similar study.

Optimal deformation procedure for hybrid adaptive x-ray mirror based on mechanical and piezo-driven bending system.

A hybrid deformable x-ray mirror consisting of a mechanical bender and a bimorph deformable mirror has been developed to realize adaptive optical systems, such as zoom condenser optics, for synchrotron-radiation-based x-ray microscopy. In the developed system, both bending mechanisms comprehensively contribute to the formation of the target mirror shape and can narrow the role of piezoelectric actuators, thereby enabling a more stable operation. In this study, the behavior of the bimorph mirror under the clamped condition was investigated, and the sharing of the deformation amount for each bending mechanism was optimized to minimize the amplitude of the voltage distribution of the bimorph mirror.

The relevant resting-state brain activity of ecological microexpression recognition test (EMERT).

Zhang, et al. (2017) established the ecological microexpression recognition test (EMERT), but it only used white models' expressions as microexpressions and backgrounds, and there was no research detecting its relevant brain activity. The current study used white, black and yellow models' expressions as microexpressions and backgrounds to improve the materials ecological validity of EMERT, and it used eyes-closed and eyes-open resting-state fMRI to detect relevant brain activity of EMERT for the first time. The results showed: (1) Two new recapitulative indexes of EMERT were adopted, such as microexpression M and microexpression SD. The participants could effectively identify almost all the microexpressions, and each microexpression type had a significantly background effect. The EMERT had good retest reliability and calibration validity. (2) ALFFs (Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations) in both eyes-closed and eyes-open resting-states and ALFFs-difference could predict microexpression M. The relevant brain areas of microexpression M were some frontal lobes, insula, cingulate cortex, hippocampus, parietal lobe, caudate nucleus, thalamus, amygdala, occipital lobe, fusiform, temporal lobe, cerebellum and vermis. (3) ALFFs in both eyes-closed and eyes-open resting-states and ALFFs-difference could predict microexpression SD, and the ALFFs-difference was more predictive. The relevant brain areas of microexpression SD were some frontal lobes, insula, cingulate cortex, cuneus, amygdala, fusiform, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, precuneus, caudate lobe, putamen lobe, thalamus, temporal lobe, cerebellum and vermis. (4) There were many similarities and some differences in the relevant brain areas between microexpression M and SD. All these brain areas can be trained to enhance ecological microexpression recognition ability.

Small Bragg-plane slope errors revealed in synthetic diamond crystals.

Wavefront-preserving X-ray diamond crystal optics are essential for numerous applications in X-ray science. Perfect crystals with flat Bragg planes are a prerequisite for wavefront preservation in Bragg diffraction. However, this condition is difficult to realize in practice because of inevitable crystal imperfections. Here, X-ray rocking curve imaging is used to study the smallest achievable Bragg-plane slope errors in the best presently available synthetic diamond crystals and how they compare with those of perfect silicon crystals. It is shown that the smallest specific slope errors in the best diamond crystals are about 0.08 (3) µrad mm-2. These errors are only 50% larger than the 0.05 (2) µrad mm-2 specific slope errors measured in perfect silicon crystals. High-temperature annealing at 1450°C of almost flawless diamond crystals reduces the slope errors very close to those of silicon. Further investigations are in progress to establish the wavefront-preservation properties of these crystals.

The Establishment of Pseudorandom Ecological Microexpression Recognition Test (PREMERT) and Its Relevant Resting-State Brain Activity.

The EMERT (ecological microexpression recognition test) by Zhang et al. (2017) used between-subjects Latin square block design for backgrounds; therefore, participants could not get comparable scores. The current study used within-subject pseudorandom design for backgrounds to improve EMERT to PREMERT (pseudorandom EMERT) and used eyes-closed and eyes-open resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to detect relevant brain activity of PREMERT for the first time. The results showed (1) two new recapitulative indexes of PREMERT were adopted, such as microexpression M and microexpression SD. Using pseudorandom design, the participants could effectively identify almost all the microexpressions, and each microexpression type had significant background effect. The PREMERT had good split-half reliability, parallel-forms reliability, criterion validity, and ecological validity. Therefore, it could stably and efficiently detect the participants' microexpression recognition abilities. Because of its pseudorandom design, all participants did the same test; their scores could be compared with each other. (2) amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF; 0.01-0.1 Hz) in both eyes-closed and eyes-open resting states and ALFF difference could predict microexpression M, and the ALFF difference was less predictive. The relevant resting-state brain areas of microexpression M were some frontal lobes, insula, cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, fusiform gyrus, parietal lobe, caudate nucleus, precuneus, thalamus, putamen, temporal lobe, and cerebellum. (3) ALFFs in both eyes-closed and eyes-open resting states and ALFF difference could predict microexpression SD, and the ALFF difference was more predictive. The relevant resting-state brain areas of microexpression SD were some frontal lobes, central anterior gyrus, supplementary motor area, insula, hippocampus, amygdala, cuneus, occipital lobe, fusiform gyrus, parietal lobe, caudate nucleus, pallidum, putamen, thalamus, temporal lobe, and cerebellum. (4) There were many similar relevant resting-state brain areas, such as brain areas of expression recognition, microexpressions consciousness and attention, and the change from expression backgrounds to microexpression, and some different relevant resting-state brain areas, such as precuneus, insula, and pallidum, between microexpression M and SD. The ALFF difference was more sensitive to PREMERT fluctuations.

Hard X-ray self-seeding commissioning at PAL-XFEL.

A wake monochromator based on a large-area diamond single crystal for hard X-ray self-seeding has been successfully installed and commissioned in the hard X-ray free-electron laser (FEL) at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory with international collaboration. For this commissioning, the self-seeding was demonstrated with a low bunch charge (40 pC) and the nominal bunch charge (180 pC) of self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) operation. The FEL pulse lengths were estimated as 7 fs and 29.5 fs, respectively. In both cases, the average spectral brightness increased by more than three times compared with the SASE mode. The self-seeding experiment was demonstrated for the first time using a crystal with a thickness of 30 µm, and a narrow bandwidth of 0.22 eV (full width at half-maximum) was obtained at 8.3 keV, which confirmed the functionality of a crystal with such a small thickness. In the nominal bunch-charge self-seeding experiment, the histogram of the intensity integrated over a 1 eV bandwidth showed a well defined Gaussian profile, which is evidence of the saturated FEL and a minimal electron-energy jitter (∼1.2 × 10-4) effect. The corresponding low photon-energy jitter (∼2.4 × 10-4) of the SASE FEL pulse, which is two times lower than the Pierce parameter, enabled the seeding power to be maximized by maintaining the spectral overlap between SASE FEL gain and the monochromator.

High Bragg reflectivity of diamond crystals exposed to multi-kW†mm-2 X-ray beams.

X-ray free-electron lasers in the oscillator configuration (XFELO) are future fully coherent hard X-rays sources with ultrahigh spectral purity. X-ray beams circulate in an XFELO optical cavity comprising diamond single crystals. They function as high-reflectance (close to 100%), narrowband (∼10 meV) Bragg backscattering mirrors. The average power density of the X-ray beams in the XFELO cavity is predicted to be as high as ∼10 kW mm-2. Therefore, XFELO feasibility relies on the ability of diamond crystals to withstand such a high radiation load and preserve their high reflectivity. Here the endurance of diamond crystals to irradiation with multi-kW mm-2 power density X-ray beams is studied. It is shown that the high Bragg reflectivity of the diamond crystals is preserved after the irradiation, provided it is performed at ∼1 × 10-8 Torr high-vacuum conditions. Irradiation under 4 × 10-6 Torr results in a ∼1 meV shift of the Bragg peak, which corresponds to a relative lattice distortion of 4 × 10-8, while the high Bragg reflectivity stays intact.

Diffraction properties of multilayer Laue lenses with an aperture of 102 µm and WSi2/Al bilayers.

We report on the characterization of a multilayer Laue lens (MLL) with large acceptance, made of a novel WSi2/Al bilayer system. Fabrication of multilayers with large deposition thickness is required to obtain MLL structures with sufficient apertures capable of accepting the full lateral coherence length of x-rays at typical nanofocusing beamlines. To date, the total deposition thickness has been limited by stress-buildup in the multilayer. We were able to grow WSi2/Al with low grown-in stress, and asses the degree of stress reduction. X-ray diffraction experiments were conducted at beamline 1-BM at the Advanced Photon Source. We used monochromatic x-rays with a photon energy of 12 keV and a bandwidth of ΔE/E=5.4·10(-4). The MLL was grown with parallel layer interfaces, and was designed to have a large focal length of 9.6 mm. The mounted lens was 2.7 mm in width. We found and quantified kinks and bending of sections of the MLL. Sections with bending were found to partly have a systematic progression in the interface angles. We observed kinking in some, but not all, areas. The measurements are compared with dynamic diffraction calculations made with Coupled Wave Theory. Data are plotted showing the diffraction efficiency as a function of the external tilting angle of the entire mounted lens. This way of plotting the data was found to provide an overview into the diffraction properties of the whole lens, and enabled the following layer tilt analyses.

Fresnel zone plate stacking in the intermediate field for high efficiency focusing in the hard X-ray regime.

Focusing efficiency of Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) for X-rays depends on zone height, while the achievable spatial resolution depends on the width of the finest zones. FZPs with optimal efficiency and sub-100-nm spatial resolution require high aspect ratio structures which are difficult to fabricate with current technology especially for the hard X-ray regime. A possible solution is to stack several zone plates. To increase the number of FZPs within one stack, we first demonstrate intermediate-field stacking and apply this method by stacks of up to five FZPs with adjusted diameters. Approaching the respective optimum zone height, we maximized efficiencies for high resolution focusing at three different energies, 10, 11.8, and 25 keV.

High-contrast sub-millivolt inelastic X-ray scattering for nano- and mesoscale science.

Photon and neutron inelastic scattering spectrometers are microscopes for imaging condensed matter dynamics on very small length and time scales. Inelastic X-ray scattering permitted the first quantitative studies of picosecond nanoscale dynamics in disordered systems almost 20 years ago. However, the nature of the liquid-glass transition still remains one of the great unsolved problems in condensed matter physics. It calls for studies at hitherto inaccessible time and length scales, and therefore for substantial improvements in the spectral and momentum resolution of the inelastic X-ray scattering spectrometers along with a major enhancement in spectral contrast. Here we report a conceptually new spectrometer featuring a spectral resolution function with steep, almost Gaussian tails, sub-meV (≃620 µeV) bandwidth and improved momentum resolution. The spectrometer opens up uncharted space on the dynamics landscape. New results are presented on the dynamics of liquid glycerol, in the regime that has become accessible with the novel spectrometer.