Rationality and Emotions in Decision Making

Decision making is traditionally viewed as a rational process where reason calculates the best way to achieve the goal. Investigations from different areas of cognitive science have shown that human decisions and actions are much more influenced by intuition and emotional responses then it was previously thought. In this paper I examine the role of emotion in decision making, particularly Damasio's hypothesis of somatic markers and Green's dual process theory of moral judgment. I conclude the paper with the discussion of the threat that deliberation and conscious rationality is an illusion.philosophy of cognitive science, decision making, emotions, the problem of free will, ethics

Quantum Monte Carlo simulation of spin-polarized tritium

The ground-state properties of spin-polarized tritium T$\downarrow$ at zero temperature are obtained by means of diffusion Monte Carlo calculations. Using an accurate {\em ab initio} T$\downarrow$-T$\downarrow$ interatomic potential we have studied its liquid phase, from the spinodal point until densities above its freezing point. The equilibrium density of the liquid is significantly higher and the equilibrium energy of $-3.664(6)$ K significantly lower than in previous approximate descriptions. The solid phase has also been studied for three lattices up to high pressures, and we find that hcp lattice is slightly preferred. The liquid-solid phase transition has been determined using the double-tangent Maxwell construction; at zero temperature, bulk tritium freezes at a pressure of $P=9(1)$ bar.Comment: 8 page

Structure of halo and quasi-halo helium–helium–alkali trimers

We report a diffusion Monte Carlo study of A4He2 and A4He3He trimers’ structural properties, were A is one of the alkali atoms 6,7Li, 23Na, 39K, 85Rb or 133Cs. Some of them are in a pure halo state, characterized by large spatial extent and universality, while some are close to the halo limit. The theoretical analysis of these trimers enables insight on how structural properties of weakly bound systems change when approaching the halo edge. For that purpose, two-variable distributions of inter-particle separations and angles were calculated. Extreme spatial extensions of some trimers with 3He confirm their halo nature. Although all the considered systems are floppy, trimers with all bound dimer subsystems are less spread and have significantly lower percentage of quasi-linear configurations than those which have at least one unbound dimer subsystem.Postprint (author's final draft

Biomarkers of sepsis in neonates and children

Sepsis, and related complications, is still a common cause of death in hospitalized patients worldwide, especially in critically ill neonates and children. Sepsis is also responsible for significant morbidity, and financial burden. It is very important to recognize sepsis early, since delayed diagnosis is associated with worse outcome. The early detection of sepsis remains a great challenge for clinicians because the use of blood cultures, the gold standard for diagnosis of bacteremia, is fraught with difficulties. The role of different immune and metabolic biomarkers is to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of sepsis. White blood cell count, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin are currently the most widely used biomarkers, but they have limited abilities to distinguish sepsis from other inflammatory conditions or to predict outcome. In this review, these biomarkers will be discussed along with novel diagnostic, prognostic and treatment response biomarkers, including interleukins -6, -8, -18, tumor necrosis factor – alpha, CD11b, CD64 and CD15s. The future of sepsis biomarkers lies in extensive validation studies of all novel biomarkers and their combinations as early predictors of sepsis. Also, research to identify novel sepsis biomarkers and develop specific therapeutic strategies based on biomarker information has to be continued

Universality in ultradilute liquid Bose-Bose mixtures

We have studied dilute Bose-Bose mixtures of atoms with attractive interspecies and repulsive intraspecies interactions using quantum Monte Carlo methods at T=0. Using a number of models for interactions, we determine the range of validity of the universal equation of state of the symmetric liquid mixture as a function of two parameters: the s-wave scattering length and the effective range of the interaction potential. It is shown that the Lee-Huang-Yang correction is sufficient only for extremely dilute liquids with the additional restriction that the range of the potential is small enough. Based on the quantum Monte Carlo equation of state we develop a density functional which goes beyond the Lee-Huang-Yang term and use it together with the local density approximation to determine density profiles of realistic self-bound drops.Postprint (published version

Ground-state properties of weakly bound helium-alkali trimers

Weakly bound triatomic molecules consisting of two helium atoms and one alkali metal atom are studied by means of the diffusion Monte Carlo method. We determined the stability of 4He2A, 4He3HeA, and 3He2A, where A is one of the alkali atoms Li, Na, K, Rb, or Cs. Some of the trimers with 3He are predicted to be self-bound for the first time, but this is observed to be dependent on the He–A interaction potential model. In addition to the ground-state energy of the trimers, we determined their density, radial, and angular distributions. Many of them are spatially very extended, which qualifies them as quantum halo statesPostprint (author's final draft