Individual Differences in Need for Cognition and Decision-Making Competence among Leaders

When making decisions, people sometimes deviate from normative standards. While such deviations may appear to be alarmingly common, examining individual differences may reveal a more nuanced picture. Specifically, the personality factor of need for cognition (i.e., the extent to which people engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activities; Cacioppo & Petty, 1982) may moderate decision makers’ susceptibility to bias, as could personality factors associated with being a leader. As part of a large-scale assessment of high-level leaders, participants completed a battery of decision-making competence and personality scales. Leaders who scored higher on need for cognition performed better on two of four components of a decision-making competence measure: framing and honoring sunk costs. In addition, the leader sample performed better than published controls. Thus, both individual differences in need for cognition and leadership experience moderate susceptibility to decision biases. Implications for broader theories of individual differences and bias are discussed

Weak antilocalization in quasi-two-dimensional electronic states of epitaxial LuSb thin films

Observation of large non-saturating magnetoresistance in rare-earth monopnictides has raised enormous interest in understanding the role of its electronic structure. Here, by a combination of molecular-beam epitaxy, low-temperature transport, angle-resolved photoemssion spectroscopy, and hybrid density functional theory we have unveiled the bandstructure of LuSb, where electron-hole compensation is identified as a mechanism responsible for large magnetoresistance in this topologically trivial compound. In contrast to bulk single crystal analogues, quasi-two-dimensional behavior is observed in our thin films for both electron and holelike carriers, indicative of dimensional confinement of the electronic states. Introduction of defects through growth parameter tuning results in the appearance of quantum interference effects at low temperatures, which has allowed us to identify the dominant inelastic scattering processes and elucidate the role of spin-orbit coupling. Our findings open up new possibilities of band structure engineering and control of transport properties in rare-earth monopnictides via epitaxial synthesis.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures; includes supplementary informatio

Effects of pressure on diffusion and vacancy formation in MgO from non-empirical free-energy integrations

The free energies of vacancy pair formation and migration in MgO were computed via molecular dynamics using free-energy integrations and a non-empirical ionic model with no adjustable parameters. The intrinsic diffusion constant for MgO was obtained at pressures from 0 to 140 GPa and temperatures from 1000 to 5000 K. Excellent agreement was found with the zero pressure diffusion data within experimental error. The homologous temperature model which relates diffusion to the melting curve describes well our high pressure results within our theoretical framework.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 1 figure, revtex, submitted to PR

Srs2 mediates PCNA-SUMO-dependent inhibition of DNA repair synthesis

Completion of DNA replication needs to be ensured even when challenged with fork progression problems or DNA damage. PCNA and its modifications constitute a molecular switch to control distinct repair pathways. In yeast, SUMOylated PCNA (S-PCNA) recruits Srs2 to sites of replication where Srs2 can disrupt Rad51 filaments and prevent homologous recombination (HR). We report here an unexpected additional mechanism by which S-PCNA and Srs2 block the synthesis-dependent extension of a recombination intermediate, thus limiting its potentially hazardous resolution in association with a cross-over. This new Srs2 activity requires the SUMO interaction motif at its C-terminus, but neither its translocase activity nor its interaction with Rad51. Srs2 binding to S-PCNA dissociates Polδ and Polη from the repair synthesis machinery, thus revealing a novel regulatory mechanism controlling spontaneous genome rearrangements. Our results suggest that cycling cells use the Siz1-dependent SUMOylation of PCNA to limit the extension of repair synthesis during template switch or HR and attenuate reciprocal DNA strand exchanges to maintain genome stability. © 2013 European Molecular Biology Organization

Comparison of the Electronic Structures and Energetics of Ferroelectric LiNbO3 and LiTaO3

This paper explains the origin of the ferroelectric instability in LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 and compares the electronic structures and energetics of the two materials.Comment: 31 pages, 11 Postscript figure

Middle pleistocene glaciation in Patagonia dated by cosmogenic-nuclide measurements on outwash gravels

The well-preserved glacial record in Argentine Patagonia offers a ~ 1 Ma archive of terrestrial climate extremes in southern South America. These glacial deposits remain largely undated beyond the range of radiocarbon dating at ca. 40 ka. Dating old glacial deposits (> several 105 a) by cosmogenic surface exposure methods is problematic because of the uncertainty in moraine degradation and boulder erosion rates. Here, we show that cobbles on outwash terraces can reliably date ‘old’ glacial deposits in the Lago Pueyrredón valley, 47.5° S, Argentina. Favorable environmental conditions (e.g., aridity and strong winds) have enabled continuous surface exposure of cobbles and preservation of outwash terraces. The data demonstrate that nuclide inheritance is negligible and we therefore use the oldest surface cobbles to date the deposit. 10Be concentrations in outwash cobbles reveal a major glacial advance at ca. 260 ka, concurrent with Marine Isotope Stage 8 (MIS 8) and dust peaks in Antarctic ice cores. A 10Be concentration depth-profile in the outwash terrace supports the age and suggests a low terrace erosion rate of ca. 0.5 mm ka− 1. We compare these data to exposure ages obtained from associated moraines and find that surface boulders underestimate the age of the glaciation by ~ 100 ka; thus the oldest boulders in this area do not date closely moraine deposition. The 10Be concentration in moraine cobbles help to constrain moraine degradation rates. These data together with constraints from measured 26Al/10Be ratios suggest that all moraine boulders were likely exhumed after original deposition. We determine the local Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) occurred at ~ 27–25 ka, consistent with the maximum LGM in other parts of Patagonia

Generation and detection of axions using guided structures

We propose a new experimental technique to generate and detect axions in the lab with a good experimental sensitivity over a broad axion mass range. The scheme relies on using laser-based four-wave mixing, which is mediated by the hypothetical axion field. Intense pump and Stokes laser beams that are confined to a waveguide (i.e., for example, an optical fiber) with appropriately chosen frequencies resonantly drive axion generation. Under such a geometry, we predict the existence of guided axion waves, which we refer to as "axitons". These are solutions of the axion Klein-Gordon field equation that are spatially guided by the profiles of the driving pump and Stokes laser beams. These guided axitons can then couple to a nearby fiber and mix with another laser, affecting the propagation of a probe laser beam. A key advantage of the scheme is that the mass range of the hypothetical axion can be scanned by varying the frequencies of the pump and the Stokes laser beams. We predict that, using reasonable parameters, the technique will be able to detect axions in the mass range $10^{-6}$eV $< m<$ $10^{-2}$eV with a sensitivity at the level of $10^{-12}$ GeV$^{-1}$ for the axion-photon coupling constant

Hybridization in parasites: consequences for adaptive evolution, pathogenesis and public health in a changing world

[No abstract available

Ornamental plants: a summary of research, 1990

Physical facilities and capital requirements for establishing a three-acre perennial container nursery in Ohio -1989 / Reed D. Taylor, Elton M. Smith, George P. Pealer -- Production costs of operating a three-acre perennial container nursery in Ohio - 1989 / Reed D. Taylor, Elton M. Smith, George P. Pealer -- Comparative costs of producing alternative plants in a three-acre perennial container nursery in Ohio – 1989 / Reed D. Taylor, Elton M. Smith, George P. Pealer -- Marketing and sales strategies practiced by Ohio nurseries / Reed D. Taylor, Elton M. Smith, W. Timothy Rhodus -- Evaluation of flowering crabapple susceptibility to apple scab in Ohio - 1989 / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- Fertilizing trees in the landscape: an 18-year evaluation / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- The influence of irrigation water temperature upon leaf abscision in Ficus benjamina and Dracaena marginata / Julia A. O’Bryan and John C. Peterson -- A two-year tolerance study of narcissus cultivars to selected pre-emergence herbicides / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- Tolerance of clematis and wisteria to Ronstar and Devrinol / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- Increasing efficiency of slow-release herbicide tablets / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- Developing biorational pesticides for the landscape industry / David G. Nielsen -- Interactions between subdue and slow-release fertilizers at high temperatures / Y. Inbar, H. A. J. Hoitink, M. E. Watson, K. D. Cochran, E. M. Smith -- Evaluation of powdery mildew severity on deciduous azaleas at the Secrest Arboretum - 1989 / Kenneth D. Cochran and C. Wayne Ellett -- Winter damage, regrowth and vigor of old garden roses / Gary A. Anderso