People frequently feel less empathy for and offer less aid to out-groups in need relative to their in-groups.Most attempts aimed at reducing intergroup bias in helping emphasize group-focused cognitions and emotions. However, little is known about how the sensory properties of intergroup episodes informs intergroup decisions. Here we investigate whether episodic simulation (i.e., the ability to imagine events in a specific time and place) (a) increases participants' general willingness to help, and (b) decreases the difference in prosocial intentions and behavior toward in-group versus out-group targets. Experiment 1 revealed that imagining a helping episode significantly increased self-reported intention to help in-group and out-group targets, and eliminated the gap between groups relative to a control manipulation. Path modeling analyses indicated that the effect of episodic simulation was mediated by the vividness of the imagined episode and heightened perspective-taking for the target. Experiment 2 replicated these findings and ruled out reduced encoding of group membership as an explanation for the effect. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the effect of episodic simulation on prosocial intentions was distinct from the effects of imagining people (or contact with them). Experiments 4 and 5 replicated previous experiments with helping behaviors (i.e., writing in a letter of support to the victim of a misfortune; monetary donation to the person in need). These results shed light on a previously unexplored channel of group debasing and conflict reduction. We close by considering implications for future research at the intersection of episodic and intergroup processes.

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The only available tabletop electron storage rings are the machines from the MIRRORCLE series. The electrons are accelerated in a microtron and injected into the storage ring. During its circulation, each electron passes through a tiny target many times, emitting a photon beam. Both the spectrum and the angular distribution of the radiation depend on the material, the thickness and the shape of the target. In this paper measured angular distributions of the radiation from several different targets in the magnetic field of the 20 MeV storage ring MIRRORCLE-20SX are presented. The detector comprises a 3 mm × 3 mm × 8.5 µm plastic scintillator (PS) coupled to a photomultiplier by a bundle of optical fibers. The output of the photomultiplier is digitized by an IF converter. This detector is sensitive mostly to soft X-ray radiation, and its PS is moved by a mechanical system in a plane perpendicular to the radiation axis. The measured angular distributions for Mo and Sn targets contain an annulus which is attributed to transition radiation. The angular distributions for Al, carbon nanotube and diamond-like carbon (DLC) targets show some suppression of the radiation along the magnetic field. This is the first evidence of observation of the angular distribution of synchrotron Cherenkov radiation, which represents Cherenkov radiation in a magnetic field. The power radiated from the DLC target is estimated.

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The insolubilization of cadmium in the soil of a naturally cadmium-contaminated paddy field was studied using an atomized iron powder and an extracting reagent. Cadmium in the soil was extracted into the water phase by calcium chloride. The extracted cadmium was deposited on the iron powder. The deposition of cadmium was significantly influenced by calcium chloride, since the surface area of the iron powder increased with the increasing calcium chloride concentration. We discuss the potential of the technique and the insolubilization mechanism.