Individual Differences in the Experience of Cognitive Workload

This study investigated the roles of four psychosocial variables – anxiety, conscientiousness, emotional intelligence, and Protestant work ethic – on subjective ratings of cognitive workload as measured by the Task Load Index (TLX) and the further connections between the four variables and TLX ratings of task performance. The four variables represented aspects of an underlying construct of elasticity versus rigidity in response to workload. Participants were 141 undergraduates who performed a vigilance task under different speeded conditions while working on a jigsaw puzzle for 90 minutes. Regression analysis showed that anxiety and emotional intelligence were the two variables most proximally related to TLX ratings. TLX ratings contributed to the prediction of performance on the puzzle, but not the vigilance task. Severity error bias was evident in some of the ratings. Although working in pairs improved performance, it also resulted in higher ratings of temporal demand and perceived performance pressure

The mechanism of porosity formation during solvent-mediated phase transformations

Solvent-mediated solid-solid phase transformations often result in the formation of a porous medium, which may be stable on long time scales or undergo ripening and consolidation. We have studied replace- ment processes in the KBr-KCl-H2O system using both in situ and ex situ experiments. The replacement of a KBr crystal by a K(Br,Cl) solid solution in the presence of an aqueous solution is facilitated by the gen- eration of a surprisingly stable, highly anisotropic and connected pore structure that pervades the product phase. This pore structure ensures efficient solute transport from the bulk solution to the reacting KBr and K(Br,Cl) surfaces. The compositional profile of the K(Br,Cl) solid solu- tion exhibits striking discontinuities across disc-like cavities in the product phase. Similar transformation mechanisms are probably important in con- trolling phase transformation processes and rates in a variety of natural and man-made systems.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure

CONDITIONAL PREDICTION MARKETS AS CORPORATE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS – AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON WITH GROUP DELIBERATIONS

Predicting the future is an integral part of effective corporate decision making. Most firms face the critical challenge of aggregating information dispersed among its agents. These agents and thus the aggregation process are prone to judgmental biases. The primary research question we address is whether markets correct these biases better than group deliberations. Using an experimental setting, we find that information markets provide more accurate and less volatile forecasts than group deliberations. We also describe different sources of the behavioral biases we observe. For example, while a deliberating group can be led astray by an influential group member, traders tend to overweight personal preferences. Our results indicate that conditional prediction markets provide a more effective medium for aggregating information than group deliberations

Automated consistent truncations and stability of flux compactifications

Classical flux compactifications contribute to a well-controlled corner of the string landscape, therefore providing an important testing ground for a variety of conjectures. We focus here on type II supergravity compactifications on 6d group manifolds towards 4d maximally symmetric spacetimes. We develop a code where the truncation to left-invariant scalars and the dimensional reduction to a 4d theory are automated, for any possible configuration of Op-planes and Dp-branes. We then prove that any such truncation is consistent. We further compute the mass spectrum and analyse the stability of many de Sitter, Minkowski or anti-de Sitter solutions, as well as their consistency with swampland conjectures.Comment: 31 pages. The numerical code MSSV and a corresponding database are provided as ancillary file

On the Cosmology of Type IIA Compactifications on SU(3)-structure Manifolds

We study cosmological properties of type IIA compactifications on orientifolds of SU(3)-structure manifolds with non-vanishing geometric flux. These compactifications give rise to effective 4D N=1 supergravity theories that do not fall under some recently-proven no-go theorems against de Sitter vacua and slow-roll inflation. Focusing on a well-understood class of models based on coset spaces, however, we can use a refined no-go theorem that rules out de Sitter vacua and slow-roll inflation in all but one case. The refined no-go theorem uses the dilaton and a specific linear combination of the Kaehler moduli, which is different from the overall volume modulus. It puts a lower bound on the first slow-roll parameter: epsilon>=2. The only case not ruled out is the manifold SU(2)x SU(2), for which we indeed find critical points with epsilon numerically zero. However, all the points we could find have a tachyon corresponding to an eta-parameter eta<= -2.4.Comment: LaTeX, 22 pages plus appendix; v2: references added, minor change

KIK-i projekti Nr. 16442 lõpparuanne

Rändvähk siirati Peipsisse 1970. aastate alguses Venemaa kalateadlaste soovitusel, et suurendada kalade toiduvarusid. Paraku muutus ta seal kiiresti invasiivseks ning põhjustab tänapäeval halba bioseisundit Euroopa Veepoliitika Raamdirektiivi (2000) mõttes, sest alandab oluliselt taksonirikkust. Võrtsjärves asustab kohalik liik järve-kirpvähk endiselt sarnaseid elupaiku, mille Peipsis on hõivanud rändvähk. Ta aga ei moodusta kuskil samasugust "monokultuuri". Peipsist on rändvähk seni levinud nii pärivoolu Narva jõkke kui ka suubuvaid jõgesid mööda vastuvoolu, eriti piki Emajõge (Panov et al. 2000, Timm & Tuvikene 2019). Tema kõrge arvukus ning depressiivne mõju teistele liikidele on tõenäoliselt üks põhjus, miks ka Emajõe bioloogilist seisundit mõnedes lõikudes pole hea. Emajões allpool Tartut kuni Peipsini on rändvähk kõikjal levinud. Võrtsjärve elustikule on ta potentsiaalselt väga ohtlik. Loomulikult harvendab rändvähk ka Emajõe enda loomi, kuid et jõepõhi on mitmekesisem ja taimerikkam kui järvepõhi, ei suuda ta seda sama edukalt muudest liikidest puhastada. Keskkonnatingimuste suhtes on rändvähk võrreldes järve-kirpvähiga laiema amplituudiga. Ta talub paremini hüpoksiat ja madalat pH-d. Kalad küll tarvitavad rändvähki toiduks, kuid tabavad teda võrreldes järve-kirpvähiga oluliselt halvemini, sest ta peitub ohu korral liiva või kruusa sisse. Rändvähile meeldib asustada võrkpüüniseid. Katseliselt ulatus nende asustustihedus 5-7 isendini/100 cm2 kohta. Ca 50-60% võrgule kinnitunud vähkidest tuleb võrguga veest väljatõstmisel kaasa. Seega peitub oht rändvähkide sattumiseks Võrtsjärve või mõnda teise veekogusse, kui Peipsist võetud püünised asetatakse kiiresti püügile, ilma et neid oleks vahepeal kuivatatud või kuuma veega töödeldud

Reliability of Intra-Retinal Layer Thickness Estimates

Purpose Measurement of intra-retinal layer thickness using optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become increasingly prominent in multiple sclerosis (MS) research. Nevertheless, the approaches used for determining the mean layer thicknesses vary greatly. Insufficient data exist on the reliability of different thickness estimates, which is crucial for their application in clinical studies. This study addresses this lack by evaluating the repeatability of different thickness estimates. Methods Studies that used intra-retinal layer segmentation of macular OCT scans in patients with MS were retrieved from PubMed. To investigate the repeatability of previously applied layer estimation approaches, we generated datasets of repeating measurements of 15 healthy subjects and 13 multiple sclerosis patients using two OCT devices (Cirrus HD-OCT and Spectralis SD-OCT). We calculated each thickness estimate in each repeated session and analyzed repeatability using intra-class correlation coefficients and coefficients of repeatability. Results We identified 27 articles, eleven of them used the Spectralis SD-OCT, nine Cirrus HD-OCT, two studies used both devices and two studies applied RTVue-100. Topcon OCT-1000, Stratus OCT and a research device were used in one study each. In the studies that used the Spectralis, ten different thickness estimates were identified, while thickness estimates of the Cirrus OCT were based on two different scan settings. In the simulation dataset, thickness estimates averaging larger areas showed an excellent repeatability for all retinal layers except the outer plexiform layer (OPL). Conclusions Given the good reliability, the thickness estimate of the 6mm-diameter area around the fovea should be favored when OCT is used in clinical research. Assessment of the OPL was weak in general and needs further investigation before OPL thickness can be used as a reliable parameter

Гидроочистка легкого атмосферного газойля в смеси с бензином

Целью данной работы является исследование качества гидрогенизата при гидроочистке легкого атмосферного газойля и совместной гидроочистке лёгкого атмосферного газойля в смеси с бензином.The purpose of this work is to study the quality of the hydrogenate while hydrotreating the light atmospheric gas oil and co-hydrotreating the light atmospheric gas oil mixed with the gasoline

Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage, 5th Edition

The book Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage (PCWD) is the award-winning and leading reference in the field. Over 13,000 copies of the 4th edition were sold, and we conservatively estimate that it saves $210 million in resources and$220 million in labor annually. Emerging issues and changes in the field, however, have precipitated the need for a new 5th edition of PCWD. Six editors and over 120 authors are working to create the next edition, which will include 36 new and 77 revised chapters. We anticipate that the 5th edition of PCWD and derivative products will be available as a two-volume book, CD, website, e-book, and mobile app, starting in 2015