CVcat: an interactive database on cataclysmic variables

CVcat is a database that contains published data on cataclysmic variables and related objects. Unlike in the existing online sources, the users are allowed to add data to the catalogue. The concept of an ``open catalogue'' approach is reviewed together with the experience from one year of public usage of CVcat. New concepts to be included in the upcoming AstroCat framework and the next CVcat implementation are presented. CVcat can be found at http://www.cvcat.org.Comment: 5 pages A&A Latex, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Experiments and Simulations on Day-to-Day Route Choice-Behaviour

The paper reports laboratory experiments on a day-to-day route choice game with two routes. Subjects had to choose between a main road M and a side road S. The capacity was greater for the main road. 18 subjects participated in each session. In equilibrium the number of subjects is 12 on M and 6 on S. Two treatments with 6 sessions each were run at the Laboratory of Experimental Economics at Bonn University using RatImage. Feedback was given in treatment I only about own travel time and in treatment II on travel time for M and S. Money payoffs increase with decreasing time. The main results are as follows. 1. Mean numbers on M and S are very near to the equilibrium. 2. Fluctuations persist until the end of the sessions in both treatments. 3. Fluctuations are smaller under treatment II .The effect is small but significant. 4. The total number of changes is significantly greater in treatment I. 5. Subjects’ road changes and payoffs are negatively correlated in all sessions. 6. A direct response mode reacts with more changes for bad payoffs whereas a contrary response mode shows opposite reactions. Both response modes can be observed. 7. The simulation of an extended payoff sum learning model closely fits the main results of the statistical evaluation of the data.travel behaviour research, information in intelligent transportation systems, day-to-day route choice, laboratory experiments, payoff sum model

Testing (beliefs about) social preferences: evidence from an experimental coordination game

We report experimental results on a simple coordination game in which two players can coordinate either on an equal distribution of payoffs or on a Pareto superior but unequal distribution of payoffs. We find that the higher the difference in individual payoffs, the less likely is a successful coordination on the Pareto superior distribution. While this is well in line with the recent models of inequity aversion, our results are best explained not by a preference for equality per se but rather by the belief that the opponent has such a preference

Eclipse Mapping of the Accretion Stream in UZ Fornacis

We present a new method to map the surface brightness of the accretionstreams in AM Herculis systems from observed light curves. Extensive tests ofthe algorithm show that it reliably reproduces the intensity distribution ofthe stream for data with a signal-to-noise ratio >5. As a first application, wemap the accretion stream emission of Civ lambda 1550 in the polar UZ Fornacisusing HST FOS high state spectra. We find three main emission regions along theaccretion stream: (1) On the ballistic part of the accretion stream, (2) on themagnetically funneled stream near the primary accretion spot, and (3) on themagnetically funneled stream at a position above the stagnation region

Commuters route choice behaviour

The paper reports laboratory experiments with a two route choice scenario. In each session 18 subjects had to choose between a main road M and a side road S. The capacity of M was larger. Feedback was given in treatment I only on the subjects' own travel time and in treatment II on travel time for M and S. The main results are as follows: • Mean numbers on M and S are near to pure equilibrium. • Fluctuations persist until the end of the sessions. • The total number of changes is significantly greater in treatment I. • Subjects' road changes and payoffs are negatively correlated. • A direct response mode results in more changes for bad payoffs whereas a contrary response mode shows opposite reactions. • Simulations of an extended payoff sum learning model fits the main results of the statistical evaluation of the data

Are depressive symptoms linked to a reduced pupillary response to novel positive information?:An eye tracking proof-of-concept study

Introduction:Depressive symptoms have been linked to difficulties in revising established negative beliefs in response to novel positive information. Recent predictive processing accounts have suggested that this bias in belief updating may be related to a blunted processing of positive prediction errors at the neural level. In this proof-of-concept study, pupil dilation in response to unexpected positive emotional information was examined as a psychophysiological marker of an attenuated processing of positive prediction errors associated with depressive symptoms.Methods: Participants (N = 34) completed a modified version of the emotional Bias Against Disconfirmatory Evidence (BADE) task in which scenarios initially suggest negative interpretations that are later either confirmed or disconfirmed by additional information. Pupil dilation in response to the confirmatory and disconfirmatory information was recorded. Results: Behavioral results showed that depressive symptoms were related to difficulties in revising negative interpretations despite disconfirmatory positive information. The eye tracking results pointed to a reduced pupil response to unexpected positive information among people with elevated depressive symptoms. Discussion: Altogether, the present study demonstrates that the adapted emotional BADE task can be appropriate for examining psychophysiological aspects such as changes in pupil size along with behavioral responses. Furthermore, the results suggest that depression may be characterized by deviations in both behavioral (i.e., reduced updating of negative beliefs) and psychophysiological (i.e., decreased pupil dilation) responses to unexpected positive information. Future work should focus on a larger sample including clinically depressed patients to further explore these findings.</p

Strong Metal Support Interaction as a Key Factor of Au Activation in CO Oxidation

We address the question of the nature of Au NP activation and through a combination of experimental and theoretical techniques. In situ XPS measurements of Au TiO2 during CO oxidation show high catalytic activity can be associated with the formation of an ionic Au species. DFT calculations performed on Au TiO2 show that the formation of such ionic Au is due to a strong metal support interaction between Au and reduced and defective TiO2. TEM supports these findings, indicating the formation of an overlayer of transition metal oxide support on Au NPs after CO oxidation. These results suggest TiO2 lattice oxygen is involved directly in CO oxidation, which was confirmed with labeled 18O2 experiment