Russland vor den Wahlen : Geringe Chancen für die Demokratie

In Russland stehen Wahlen bevor. Am 4. Dezember 2011 wird das russische Parlament, die Duma, gewählt, am 4. März 2012 folgen die Präsidentenwahlen. Im Folgenden soll die Ausgangslage dargestellt und eine politische Bewertung des Wahlprozesses und seiner voraussichtlichen Folgen versucht werden

Eye movements in code reading:relaxing the linear order

Abstract—Code reading is an important skill in programming. Inspired by the linearity that people exhibit while natural lan-guage text reading, we designed local and global gaze-based mea-sures to characterize linearity (left-to-right and top-to-bottom) in reading source code. Unlike natural language text, source code is executable and requires a specific reading approach. To validate these measures, we compared the eye movements of novice and expert programmers who were asked to read and comprehend short snippets of natural language text and Java programs. Our results show that novices read source code less linearly than natural language text. Moreover, experts read code less linearly than novices. These findings indicate that there are specific differences between reading natural language and source code, and suggest that non-linear reading skills increase with expertise. We discuss the implications for practitioners and educators. I

Electrophysiological Correlates of the Interaction of Physical and Numerical Size in Symbolic Number Processing: Insights from a Novel Go/Nogo Numerical Stroop Task

The interaction of physical and numerical size has been investigated and repeatedly demonstrated in the numerical Stroop task, in which participants compare digits of different physical sizes. It is, however, not entirely clear yet what psychological processes contribute to this interaction. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of inhibition in the interaction of physical and numerical size, by introducing a novel paradigm that is suitable to elicit inhibition-related event-related potential components. To this end, we combined the go/nogo paradigm with the numerical Stroop task while measuring EEG and reaction times. Participants were presented with Arabic number pairs and had to press a button if the number on one side was numerically larger and they had to refrain from responding if the number on the other side was numerically larger. The physical size of the number pairs was also manipulated, in order to create congruent, neutral, and incongruent trials. Behavioural results confirmed the well-established numerical distance and numerical Stroop effects. Analysis of electrophysiological data revealed the classical go/nogo electrophysiological effects with numerical stimuli, and showed that peak amplitudes were larger for nogo than for go trials on the N2, as well as on the P3 component, on frontal and midline electrodes. When analysing the congruency effects, the peak amplitude of N2 was larger in incongruent trials than in neutral and congruent trials, while there was no evidence of a congruency effect on the P3 component peaks. Further analysis of the electrophysiological data revealed an additional facilitatory effect in the go trials, as well as an additional interference effect in the nogo trials. Taken together, it seems that interference effects are probably resolved by inhibitory processes and that facilitatory effects are affected by different cognitive control processes required by go versus nogo trials

Eye-Tracking in Interactive Virtual Environments: Implementation and Evaluation

Not all eye-tracking methodology and data processing are equal. While the use of eye-tracking is intricate because of its grounding in visual physiology, traditional 2D eye-tracking methods are supported by software, tools, and reference studies. This is not so true for eye-tracking methods applied in virtual reality (imaginary 3D environments). Previous research regarded the domain of eye-tracking in 3D virtual reality as an untamed realm with unaddressed issues. The present paper explores these issues, discusses possible solutions at a theoretical level, and offers example implementations. The paper also proposes a workflow and software architecture that encompasses an entire experimental scenario, including virtual scene preparation and operationalization of visual stimuli, experimental data collection and considerations for ambiguous visual stimuli, post-hoc data correction, data aggregation, and visualization. The paper is accompanied by examples of eye-tracking data collection and evaluation based on ongoing research of indoor evacuation behavior

Monitoring spore dispersal and early infections of Diplocarpon coronariae causing apple blotch using selected spore traps and a new qPCR method

Apple blotch (AB) is a major disease of apples in Asia and recently also emerging in Europe and the USA. It is caused by the fungus Diplocarpon coronariae (Dc) (formerly: Marssonina coronaria; teleomorph: Diplocarpon mali) and leads to severe defoliation of apple trees in late summer and thus to reduced yield and fruit quality. To develop effective crop protection strategies, a sound knowledge of the pathogen’s biology is crucial. However, especially data on the early phase of disease development is scarce, and no data on spore dispersal for Europe is available. In this study, we assessed different spore traps for their capacity to capture Dc spores, and we developed a highly sensitive TaqMan qPCR method to quantify Dc conidia in spore trap samples. With these tools, we monitored the temporal and spatial spore dispersal and disease progress in spring and early summer in an extensively managed apple orchard in Switzerland in 2019 and 2020. Our results show that Dc overwinters in leaf litter and that spore dispersal and primary infections occur already in late April and beginning of May. We provide the first results on early-season spore dispersal of Dc, which, combined with the observed disease progress, helps to understand the disease dynamics and improve disease forecast models. Using the new qPCR method, we finally detected Dc in buds, on bark and on fruit mummies, suggesting that these apple organs may serve as additional overwintering habitats for the fungus

High resolution time-frequency analyses of event-related EEG oscillations using S-transform

Titelblatt, Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Einleitung und Problemstellung 1 2 EEG-Indikatoren zur Untersuchung kognitiver Prozesse 3 2.1 Von der Nervenzelle zur EEG-Welle 4 2.2 Ereigniskorrelierte Potentiale (EKP) 5 2.3 Ereigniskorrelierte Oszillationen (EKO) 8 2.4 Methodologische Betrachtungen 12 3 Zeit-Frequenz-Signalanalyse 17 3.1 Grundlagen 18 3.2 Kurzzeit-Fourier-Transformation (STFT) 28 3.3 Wavelet-Transformation (WT) 30 3.4 S-Transformation (ST) 35 4 Beschreibung der Softwaretools 43 5 Empirie I: Wahlreaktionen unter erschwerten Bedingungen 47 5.1 Zielsetzung 47 5.2 Methode 47 5.3 Datenanalyse 50 5.4 Ergebnisse 52 5.5 Diskussion 58 6 Empirie II: Visueller Novelty-Oddball 61 6.1 Zielsetzung 61 6.2 Methode 62 6.3 Datenanalyse 65 6.4 Ergebnisse 67 6.5 Diskussion 75 7 Resümee 77 A Ergänzende Zeit-Frequenz-Darstellungen zu Empirie II 79 Literaturverzeichnis 85Zur Untersuchung kognitiver Verarbeitungsprozesse mittels Elektroenzephalographie (EEG) werden traditionell Analysen ereigniskorrelierter Potentiale im Zeitbereich durchgeführt. In den letzten Jahren ist darüber hinaus allerdings ein stetig wachsendes Interesse an der Betrachtung ereigniskorrelierter oszillatorischer Signalanteile festzustellen. Um diese in ihrer zeitlichen Dynamik erfassen zu können, müssen die EEG- Signale mit Hilfe geeigneter mathematischer Verfahren in eine Zeit-Frequenz- Darstellung überführt werden. In der Regel wird hierfür bei der Betrachtung langsamer Frequenzen bis etwa 20 Hz die klassische Kurzzeit-Fourier- Transformation (STFT) verwendet, während für die Analyse schneller Frequenzen die Wavelet-Transformation (WT) zur Anwendung kommt. In dieser Arbeit wird die S-Transformation (ST; Stockwell, Mansinha & Lowe, 1996) als ein sehr flexibles und effizientes Verfahren für die zeitaufgelöste Fourier-basierte Frequenzanalyse von EEG-Signalen vorgeschlagen. Die ST vereint die für EEG- Frequenzanalysen vorteilhaften Eigenschaften der STFT und der WT und erlaubt so die Untersuchung ereigniskorrelierter Oszillationen mit frequenzangepassten Analysefenstern über den gesamten Frequenzbereich, ohne dabei wie die WT den Einschränkungen durch die Zulässigkeitsbedingung zu unterliegen. Nach der Vorstellung aller drei Transformationsverfahren werden die Vorteile und Eigenschaften der ST anhand empirischer Daten aus zwei kognitionspsychologischen Untersuchungen dokumentiert. Die systematische Variation von Fenstertyp und Fensterlänge zeigt dabei einen entscheidenden Einfluss der Fensterlänge auf die Ergebnisse der Datenanalysen. In Empirie I wird die Verwendung der ST als effiziente STFT mit konstanten Analysefenstern (Hann, Hamming, Gauß) am Beispiel von Daten aus einem Wahlreaktionsexperiment beschrieben. In Empirie II wird auf Aspekte der Verwendung der ST im Sinne einer WT mit frequenzangepassten Fenstern anhand von Daten aus einem visuellen Novelty-Oddball-Experiment eingegangen.Traditionally, investigations of cognitive processes by means of electroencephalography (EEG) focus on the examination of event-related potentials in the time domain. In recent years, however, there has been a growing interest in the analysis of event-related oscillatory signals. In order to track the temporal dynamics of these oscillations, the EEG signal has to be transferred into a time-frequency representation using appropriate mathematical methods. Usually, for slow frequencies up to approximately 20 Hz, this is accomplished by means of the classical short time Fourier transform (STFT), whereas the wavelet transform (WT) is used for faster frequencies. In the present work, the S-transform (ST; Stockwell, Mansinha & Lowe, 1996) is proposed as a very flexible and efficient method for accomplishing time- dependent Fourier-based frequency analyses of EEG signals. With regard to EEG frequency analyses, the ST combines the advantageous properties of the STFT and the WT. This allows the investigation of event-related oscillations using frequency-adjusted analysis windows over the whole frequency range without being restricted by the admissibility condition, as is the case with the WT. After introducing all three transforms, the advantages and properties of the ST are presented on the basis of empirical data from two cognitive neuropsychological studies. The systematic variation of window type and window width shows a strong influence of window width on the results. In Empirie I, the ST was applied to real data from a choice reaction task using analysis windows of constant width (Hann, Hamming, Gauss). This setting represents an efficient substitute for the STFT. In Empirie II, the ST was applied to data from a visual novelty oddball task, and certain aspects of using the ST as a WT with frequency adjusted windows are described

Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on the cognitive control of negative stimuli in borderline personality disorder

Abstract Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by impairments in the cognitive control of negative information. These impairments in cognitive control are presumably due to blunted activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) along with enhanced activations of the limbic system. However, the impact of an excitatory stimulation of the dlPFC still needs to be elucidated. In the present study, we therefore assigned 50 patients with BPD and 50 healthy controls to receive either anodal or sham stimulation of the right dlPFC in a double-blind, randomized, between-subjects design. Participants performed a delayed working memory task with a distracter period during which a grey background screen, or neutral, or negative stimuli were presented. This experimental paradigm was first evaluated in a pilot study with 18 patients with BPD and 19 healthy controls. In both studies, patients with BPD showed an impairment of cognitive control when negative distracters were presented in the delay period of a working memory task. However, excitatory stimulation of the right dlPFC did not ameliorate cognitive control of negative stimuli in BPD, which raises questions about the specific role of the right dlPFC for the understanding of BPD psychopathology. Methodological limitations are discussed

Monitoring Spore Dispersal and Early Infections of Diplocarpon coronariae Causing Apple Blotch Using Spore Traps and a New qPCR Method

Apple blotch (AB) is a major disease of apple in Asia and recently emerged in Europe and the United States. It is caused by the fungus Diplocarpon coronariae (formerly Marssonina coronaria; teleomorph: Diplocarpon mali) and leads to severe defoliation of apple trees in late summer, resulting in reduced yield and fruit quality. To develop effective disease management strategies, a sound knowledge of the pathogen's biology is crucial. Data on the early phase of disease development are scarce: No data on spore dispersal in Europe are available. We developed a highly sensitive TaqMan qPCR method to quantify D. coronariae conidia in spore trap samples. We monitored temporal and spatial dispersal of conidia of D. coronariae and the progress of AB in spring and early summer in an extensively managed apple orchard in Switzerland in 2019 and 2020. Our results show that D. coronariae overwinters in leaf litter, and spore dispersal and primary infections occur in late April and early May. We provide the first results describing early-season dispersal of conidia of D. coronariae, which, combined with the observed disease progress, helps to understand the disease dynamics and will be a basis for improved disease forecast models. Using the new qPCR method, we detected D. coronariae in buds, on bark, and on fruit mummies, suggesting that several apple tissues might serve as overwintering habitats for the fungus, in addition to fallen leaves