Transcranial electric stimulation and cognitive training improves face perception

Recently, there has been much interest the effectiveness of cognitive training programmes across a variety of cognitive and perceptual domains. Some evidence suggests that combining training programmes with noninvasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) can enhance training gains, but to date this has only been examined in numerosity and arithmetic tasks. In this study, we examined whether tRNS modulated the effects of a face recognition training programme. Participants completed a face discrimination training task for an hour per day over five days. Each day, training was preceded by twenty minutes of active high frequency tRNS or sham stimulation, targeted at the posterior temporal cortices or the inferior frontal gyri (IFG). Participants who received active stimulation to the posterior temporal cortices showed significant improvement on a facial identity discrimination task (the Cambridge Face Perception Test) after training, whereas those receiving sham or IFG stimulation showed no performance change. There was no evidence of an effect of stimulation on a face memory task (the Cambridge Face Memory Test). These results suggest that tRNS can enhance the effectiveness of cognitive training programmes, but further work is needed to establish whether perceptual gains can be generalised to face memory

The Influence of Light in the Built Environment to Improve Mental Health Outcomes

Current mental health statistics for US active duty and Veteran members justify research into the causes and remedies for those plagued with negative mental health outcomes. Recent research has suggested that the built environment is connected to our mental health. This study investigated this connection with active duty and Veteran populations across the US. A literature review was completed on what factors of light in the built environment affects mental health outcomes. An analysis of active duty and Veteran mental health symptoms and the natural light rating in their residence was completed to understand the design changes that can be implemented to positively mental health outcomes in their built environment. Finally, application of the results, the cost and benefits of designing and implementing built environment changes are discussed for positive mental health outcomes for our military personnel

The Spatial Ecology of Predator-Prey Interactions: A Case Study of Yellowstone Elk, Wolves, and Cougars

The loss of large apex predators, and their subsequent reintroduction, has been identified as a substantial driver on the structure and function of ecological communities through behavioral mediated trophic cascades (BMTCs). The reintroduction of wolves (Canis lupus) to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) has served as foundational case study of BMTCs. In our system, it has been suggested that wolves have established a ‘landscape of fear’ in which the primary prey, elk (Cervus elaphus), now avoid risky places, which ultimately led to the recovery of the vegetation community. Although this case is frequently cited as a well-understood example of a landscape of fear, researchers never quantified whether elk avoided risky places, a critical component of the BMTC hypothesis. Thus, I employed numerous quantitative approaches to evaluate the role of wolves and cougars on elk habitat selection in northern Yellowstone. The results from this work suggest that the daily activity schedule of wolves provide a temporally predictable period of risk that allows elk to use risky places during safe times. As such, diel predator activity flattened (i.e., made less risky) the landscape of fear for 16 hours per day, 7 days a week, which permitted elk to forage on deciduous woody plants despite the presence of wolves. Thus, suggests that any trophic cascade in northern Yellowstone is likely driven by the consumptive effects of wolves on elk. In addition, my results suggest that daily activity patterns are an important component of predation risk, and as such, provide a predictable avenue for elk to avoid predators despite residing in an environment spatially saturated with wolves and cougars. Thus, the ability of elk to avoid predators through fine-scale spatial decisions provides support for my findings that the current spatial distribution of prey is largely driven by the consumptive effects of predators on the prey population, rather than a landscape of fear. In combination, these results suggest that the landscape of fear, and more generally, fear effects, may be of less relevance to conservation and management than direct killing within free-living, large landscapes

Rival Views of Economic Competition

Competition is a constitutive feature of capitalist societies. Social conflicts over the introduction, abolition and regulation of market organization are saturated with implicit moral arguments concerning the desirability of competition. Yet, unlike private property, exchange relations and social inequalities, economic competition has rarely been the explicit core of moral debates over capitalism. Drawing on a broad variety of social science literature, this article reconstructs, maps and systematizes ethical arguments about economic competition in capitalist societies. We discuss six contradictory rival views of economic competition and illustrate their influence by providing historical examples of the respective views in action in political-economic debates. This article serves as a mapping groundwork for reviving the systematic ethical debate on economic competition. In addition, our map of rival views lends itself to use as a structuring tool in empirical research on the moral economy and ideational embeddedness of capitalist societies, markets and firms.1. Introduction 2. Economic competition - systematizing the debate 3. Exploring the competition debate empirically 4. Discussion - Social context and the structure of the debate 5. Conclusion Footnotes Reference

Is More Mittelstand the Answer? Firm Size and the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

Corporate concentration is currently being discussed as a core reason for the crisis of democratic capitalism. It is seen as a prime mover for wage stagnation and alienation, economic inequalities and discontent with democracy. A tacit coalition of progressive anti-monopoly critiques and small business promoters considers more deconcentrated corporate structures to be a panacea for the crisis of democratic capitalism, arguing that small firms in competition are better for employment, equality and democracy. This paper offers a brief outline of ideas of the anti-monopoly and small business ideal and critically evaluates whether a more deconcentrated economy may live up to the promises. While we agree that the plea for strengthened antitrust enforcement contains relevant and promising prospects for reform, our analysis concludes on a decidedly critical note. In particular, we caution against romanticized notions of the small capitalist firm

The Moments of the Hydrogen Atom by the Method of Brackets

Expectation values of powers of the radial coordinate in arbitrary hydrogen states are given, in the quantum case, by an integral involving the associated Laguerre function. The method of brackets is used to evaluate the integral in closed-form and to produce an expression for this average value as a finite sum

Thermal and hydraulic aspects of the KTB drill site

The extensive data sets obtained by the KTB drilling project (lithological and structural information, BHT values, temperature logs, rock thermal properties) provide a unique opportunity to construct realistic thermal models and thus to shed light on thermal conditions in the upper crust. Our numerical simulation study, a Swiss contribution to the German KTB drilling project, aims to understand the steady-state thermal and hydraulic field in the surroundings of the KTB. The simulations consider state-of-the-art petrophysical aspects relevant to deep, pressurized, high-temperature structures and were performed on discretized 2-D/3-D finite-element meshes that contain topography, geological structures and hydrogeological features. Our analysis of the KTB temperature field suggests three zones of particular geothermal settings: a low-heat-flow zone in the uppermost layers with a transition to high heat flow at 500 m depth; the underlying region accessed by the borehole with its characteristic uniform gradient; and the mid-lower crust that must be responsible for the high-heat-flow regime at the KTB site. The two first zones are treated in the present paper. A 3-D thermo-hydraulic model was set up in order to evaluate the first 2000 m, including the uppermost 500 m low-heat-flow zone. This model incorporates the complex geological information from the KTB pilot hole and topography-driven fluid flow. The lateral boundaries of the model were carefully chosen by analysing the flow pattern within a large, regional 3-D domain. The drilled section is analysed by a 2-D model using the available structural information. Due to dominating refraction effects, a careful temperature gradient analysis has to be carried out for such steeply dipping, anisotropic structures. Both models indicate a thermal regime dominated by diffusive heat transfer. Hydraulic flow seems to be important only for the uppermost (≈400 m) part of the drilled depth section; our simulations do not support significant fluid circulation at greater depths. In the drilled section the rather uniform gradient and the pronounced vertical heat-flow variations can now be explained. Finally, the potential and the limitation of the analysis of heat flows and temperature gradients are demonstrated. Heat-flow interpretations are conclusive only for nearly horizontally layered, isotropic geological units. In steeply dipping and anisotropic formations the heat-flow field is perturbed over a large distance (>1 km) around the point of interest. In such geological units only the temperature gradient interpretation can provide reliable information on the surrounding materia

Chronic Intermittent Materno-Fetal Hyperoxygenation in Late Gestation May Improve on Hypoplastic Cardiovascular Structures Associated with Cardiac Malformations in Human Fetuses

Hypoplasia of cardiovascular structures is a common finding in fetuses with cardiac malformations. Materno-fetal hyperoxygenation (HO) during late gestation promotes venous return to the fetal heart. This analysis in human fetuses sought to define whether this “loading” effect might improve hypoplastic cardiovascular dimensions. Fifteen late-gestation fetuses presented with varying degrees of hypoplastic cardiovascular structures. In these cases, chronic intermittent materno-fetal HO was administered during periods ranging from 8 to 33 days. Cardiac measurements were taken before and at the end of treatment and translated into Z-scores as well as plotted on normal growth charts. During the treatment period, chronic intermittent materno-fetal HO was associated with improved dimensions of ≥1 hypoplastic cardiovascular structures in most fetuses. However, in some cases, the effect of HO was neutralized or impaired by the presence of ventricular septal defects as well as obstructions to ventricular filling or emptying. Chronic intermittent materno-fetal HO near term may be associated with improvements of hypoplastic cardiovascular dimensions in fetuses with a spectrum of cardiac malformations. This effect may facilitate postnatal treatment and improve prognosis in suitable cases

Die neue Wohnungsfrage: Gewinner und Verlierer des deutschen Immobilienbooms

Beitrag zur Rubrik "Zur Diskussion gestellt" mit dem Thema: Ungleichheit unter der Lupe - neue politische Antworten auf ein bekanntes Them