Improving intention realisation using emotional cues and implementation intentions.

Background: Remembering to act to realise an intention in the future is an important ability that comprises several cognitive processes, known collectively as prospective memory. Prospective memory failures can be costly, and so the effectiveness of strategies to improve prospective memory is an important area of investigation. Aim: To investigate whether ‘if [cue] – then [response]’ plans, known as implementation intentions, are effective at improving prospective memory and whether their effectiveness can be enhanced by the use of emotionally-valenced cues. Method: A systematic review and set of meta-analyses were conducted to consolidate the current knowledge on the effectiveness of emotional cues at improving prospective memory. Two experimental studies were then conducted which utilised implementation intentions in combination with emotional cues to improve prospective memory in a computer-based task (Experiment 1) and a naturalistic hand-washing task (Experiment 2). Results: The results of the meta-analyses confirmed that despite contradictory results, emotional cues can improve prospective memory. However, the benefit is dependent on both the valence of the emotional cues and the timing of the manipulation of the valence of the cues. The results of the two experimental studies were inconclusive as to whether the strategies of emotional cues and implementation intentions are effective together. In the first experiment, emotional cues were effective at improving prospective memory whereas implementation intentions were not, and in the second experiment the opposite pattern was observed. Conclusion: Although the use of emotional cues and implementation intentions were not observed to be effective together in the present research, important moderating variables were identified that improve our knowledge of the parameters of effectiveness of both implementation intentions and emotional cues. Further research is suggested to continue this line of investigation

The impact of mixed emotions on judgements: a naturalistic study during the FIFA world cup

Experiencing mixed emotions, a combination of two oppositely-valenced emotions, has been shown to reduce bias in decision making and improve the accuracy of judgements made. However, most previous research has been limited to laboratory-based experiments. In this pre-registered study, we looked at mixed emotions and judgements in the naturalistic context of watching sport during the FIFA world cup. N = 80 participants reported on mixed emotions before and after each England game during the World Cup, and made score predictions for each game, collecting a total of k = 480 observations. We used a lagged-effect design and multilevel modelling to analyse the data. We found that participants who felt more mixed emotions at the end of a match made significantly more likely score predictions in the following match, indicating that experiencing stronger mixed emotions subsequently predicted more reasonable judgements. This result was supported even after controlling for a number of affective, attitudinal, and socio-demographic variables. This provides evidence that naturally occurring mixed emotions are related to improved real-world judgements. The evidence is discussed through the lens of fantasy realisation theory, and the importance of feeling mixed during decisions involving puzzling or uncertain outcomes is emphasised

The Mothball, Sustainment, and Proposed Reactivation of the Hypersonic Tunnel Facility (HTF) at NASA Glenn Research Center Plum Brook Station

The Hypersonic Tunnel Facility (HTF) located at the NASA Glenn Research Center s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, is the nation s only large-scale, non-vitiated, hypersonic propulsion test facility. The HTF, with its 4-story graphite induction heater, is capable of duplicating Mach 5, 6, and 7 flight conditions. This unique propulsion system test facility has experienced several standby and reactivation cycles. The intent of the paper is to overview the HTF capabilities to the propulsion community, present the current status of HTF, and share the lessons learned from putting a large-scale facility into mothball status for a later restar

Presenting KAPODI – The Searchable Database of Emotional Stimuli Sets

Emotional stimuli such as images, words, or video clips are often used in studies researching emotion. New sets are continuously being published, creating an immense number of available sets and complicating the task for researchers who are looking for suitable stimuli. This paper presents the KAPODI-database of emotional stimuli sets that are freely available or available upon request. Over 45 aspects including over 25 key set characteristics have been extracted and listed for each set. The database facilitates finding of and comparison between individual sets. It currently contains sets published between 1963 and 2020. A searchable online version (https://airtable.com/shrnVoUZrwu6riP9b) allows users to select specific set characteristics and to find matching sets accordingly, as well as to add new published sets

The influence of emotional cues on prospective memory: A systematic review with meta-analyses

Remembering to perform a behaviour in the future, prospective memory, is essential to ensuring that people fulfil their intentions. Prospective memory involves committing to memory a cue to action (encoding), and later recognising and acting upon the cue in the environment (retrieval). Prospective memory performance is believed to be influenced by the emotionality of the cues, however the literature is fragmented and inconsistent. We conducted a systematic search to synthesise research on the influence of emotion on prospective memory. Sixty-seven effect sizes were extracted from 17 articles and hypothesised effects tested using three meta-analyses. Overall, prospective memory was enhanced when positively-valenced rather than neutral cues were presented (d = 0.32). In contrast, negatively-valenced cues did not enhance prospective memory overall (d = 0.07), but this effect was moderated by the timing of the emotional manipulation. Prospective memory performance was improved when negatively-valenced cues were presented during both encoding and retrieval (d = 0.40), but undermined when presented only during encoding (d = -0.25). Moderating effects were also found for cue-focality and whether studies controlled for the arousal level of the cues. The principal finding is that positively-valenced cues improve prospective memory performance and that timing of the manipulation can moderate emotional effects on prospective memory. We offer a new agenda for future empirical work and theorising in this area

Early versus Later Rhythm Analysis in Patients with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Background In a departure from the previous strategy of immediate defibrillation, the 2005 resuscitation guidelines from the American Heart Association–International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation suggested that emergency medical service (EMS) personnel could provide 2 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before the first analysis of cardiac rhythm. We compared the strategy of a brief period of CPR with early analysis of rhythm with the strategy of a longer period of CPR with delayed analysis of rhythm. Methods We conducted a cluster-randomized trial involving adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest at 10 Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium sites in the United States and Canada. Patients in the early-analysis group were assigned to receive 30 to 60 seconds of EMS-administered CPR and those in the later-analysis group were assigned to receive 180 seconds of CPR, before the initial electrocardiographic analysis. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge with satisfactory functional status (a modified Rankin scale score of ≤3, on a scale of 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater disability). Results We included 9933 patients, of whom 5290 were assigned to early analysis of cardiac rhythm and 4643 to later analysis. A total of 273 patients (5.9%) in the later-analysis group and 310 patients (5.9%) in the early-analysis group met the criteria for the primary outcome, with a cluster-adjusted difference of −0.2 percentage points (95% confidence interval, −1.1 to 0.7; P=0.59). Analyses of the data with adjustment for confounding factors, as well as subgroup analyses, also showed no survival benefit for either study group. Conclusions Among patients who had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, we found no difference in the outcomes with a brief period, as compared with a longer period, of EMS-administered CPR before the first analysis of cardiac rhythm. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and others; ROC PRIMED ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00394706.

Long Range Plan: Dense matter theory for heavy-ion collisions and neutron stars

Since the release of the 2015 Long Range Plan in Nuclear Physics, major events have occurred that reshaped our understanding of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and nuclear matter at large densities, in and out of equilibrium. The US nuclear community has an opportunity to capitalize on advances in astrophysical observations and nuclear experiments and engage in an interdisciplinary effort in the theory of dense baryonic matter that connects low- and high-energy nuclear physics, astrophysics, gravitational waves physics, and data scienceComment: 70 pages, 3 figures, White Paper for the Long Range Plan for Nuclear Scienc

A Trial of an Impedance Threshold Device in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Background The impedance threshold device (ITD) is designed to enhance venous return and cardiac output during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by increasing the degree of negative intrathoracic pressure. Previous studies have suggested that the use of an ITD during CPR may improve survival rates after cardiac arrest. Methods We compared the use of an active ITD with that of a sham ITD in patients with out-ofhospital cardiac arrest who underwent standard CPR at 10 sites in the United States and Canada. Patients, investigators, study coordinators, and all care providers were unaware of the treatment assignments. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge with satisfactory function (i.e., a score of ≤3 on the modified Rankin scale, which ranges from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater disability). Results Of 8718 patients included in the analysis, 4345 were randomly assigned to treatment with a sham ITD and 4373 to treatment with an active device. A total of 260 patients (6.0%) in the sham-ITD group and 254 patients (5.8%) in the active-ITD group met the primary outcome (risk difference adjusted for sequential monitoring, −0.1 percentage points; 95% confidence interval, −1.1 to 0.8; P=0.71). There were also no significant differences in the secondary outcomes, including rates of return of spontaneous circulation on arrival at the emergency department, survival to hospital admission, and survival to hospital discharge. Conclusions Use of the ITD did not significantly improve survival with satisfactory function among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest receiving standard CPR. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and others; ROC PRIMED ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00394706.