Nonlocal correlations transmitted between quantum dots via short topological superconductor.

We study the quasiparticle states and nonlocal correlations of a hybrid structure, comprising two quantum dots interconnected through a short-length topological superconducting nanowire hosting overlaping Majorana modes. We show that the hybridization between different components of this setup gives rise to the emergence of molecular states, which are responsible for nonlocal correlations. We inspect the resulting energy structure, focusing on the inter-dependence between the quasiparticles of individual quantum dots. We predict the existence of nonlocal effects, which could be accessed and probed by crossed Andreev reflection spectroscopy. Our study would be relevant to a recent experimental realization of the minimal Kitaev model [T. Dvir et al., Nature 614, 445 (2023) ], by considering its hybrid structure with side-attached quantum dots.

Leakage of Majorana mode into correlated quantum dot nearby its singlet-doublet crossover.

We study quasiparticle spectrum of the correlated quantum dot (QD) deposited on superconducting (SC) substrate which is side-coupled to the Rashba nanochain, hosting Majorana end modes. Ground state of an isolated QD proximitized to SC reservoirs is represented either by the singly occupied site or BCS-type superposition of the empty and doubly occupied configurations. Quantum phase transition between these distinct ground states is spectroscopically manifested by the in-gap Andreev states which cross each other at the Fermi level. This qualitatively affects leakage of the Majorana mode from the side-attached nanowire. We inspect the spin-selective relationship between the trivial Andreev states and the leaking Majorana mode, considering (i) perfectly polarized case, when tunneling of one spin component is completely prohibited, and (ii) another one when both spins are hybridized with the nanowire but with different couplings.

Interplay between correlations and Majorana mode in proximitized quantum dot.

We study the low energy spectrum and transport properties of a correlated quantum dot coupled between normal and superconducting reservoirs and additionally hybridized with a topological superconducting nanowire, hosting the Majorana end-modes. In this setup the Majorana quasiparticle leaking into the quantum dot can be confronted simultaneously with the on-dot pairing and correlations. We study this interplay, focusing on the quantum phase transition from the spinless (BCS-type) to the spinful (singly occupied) configuration, where the subgap Kondo effect may arise. Using the selfconsistent perturbative treatment for correlations and the unbiased numerical renormalization group calculations we find that the Majorana mode has either constructive or destructive effect on the low-energy transport behavior of the quantum dot, depending on its spin. This spin-selective influence could be verified by means of the polarized STM spectroscopy.

Spin-sensitive interference due to Majorana state on the interface between normal and superconducting leads.

We investigate the subgap spectrum and transport properties of the quantum dot on the interface between the metallic and superconducting leads and additionally side-coupled to the edge of the topological superconducting (TS) chain, hosting the Majorana quasiparticle. Due to the chiral nature of the Majorana states only one spin component of the quantum dot electrons (say [Formula: see text]) is directly affected, however the proximity induced on-dot pairing transmits its influence on the opposite spin as well. We investigate the unique interferometric patterns driven by the Majorana quasiparticle that are different for each spin component. We also address the spin-sensitive interplay with the Kondo effect manifested at the same zero-energy and we come to the conclusion that quantum interferometry can unambiguously identify the Majorana quasiparticle.

Enhancements of the Andreev conductance due to emission/absorption of bosonic quanta.

We predict that the subgap spectrum and transport properties of the quantum dot embedded between superconducting and metallic reservoirs can be substantially enhanced by emission/absorption of external bosonic quanta. Upon tuning the gate voltage the in-gap Andreev states eventually interfere with each other. We explore the measurable signatures of such interference appearing in the differential conductance for both linear and nonlinear regimes.

In-gap states of a quantum dot coupled between a normal and a superconducting lead.

We study the in-gap states of a quantum dot hybridized with one conducting and another superconducting electrode. The proximity effect suppresses the electronic states in the entire subgap regime |ω| < Δ, where Δ denotes the energy gap of the superconductor. The Andreev scattering mechanism can induce, however, some in-gap states whose line-broadening (inverse life-time) is controlled by the hybridization of the quantum dot with the normal electrode. We show that the number of such Andreev bound states is substantially dependent on the competition between the Coulomb repulsion and the induced on-dot pairing. We discuss the signatures of these in-gap states in the tunneling conductance, especially in a low-bias regime.

The effects of background noise on cognitive performance during a 70 hour simulation of conditions aboard the International Space Station.

A total of twenty-five subjects were cloistered for a period of 70 hours, five at a time, in a hyperbaric chamber modified to simulate the conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). A recording of 72 dBA background noise from the ISS service module was used to simulate noise conditions on the ISS. Two groups experienced the background noise throughout the experiment, two other groups experienced the noise only during the day, and one control group was cloistered in a quiet environment. All subjects completed a battery of cognitive tests nine times throughout the experiment. The data showed little or no effect of noise on reasoning, perceptual decision-making, memory, vigilance, mood, or subjective indices of fatigue. Our results suggest that the level of noise on the space station should not affect cognitive performance, at least over a period of several days.

Testing architectures of the decision-confidence relation.

Two experiments examined the effect of rendering confidence judgments on the properties of the comparative decision process. In Experiment 1, participants worked for 12 sessions that required two-alternative perceptual, line-length comparisons. For sessions 1-4 and sessions 9-12, confidence judgments were not required. For sessions 5-8, participants provided confidence reports following each comparative judgment. The requirement of confidence judgments significantly increased decisional response time, suggesting that some confidence processing occurs in parallel with the primary decision process. Concomitantly, an examination of the properties of the time to determine confidence during sessions 5-8 revealed clear evidence of postdecisional confidence processing. These results were replicated in a second experiment requiring two-alternative comparative judgments of Canadian city populations. We conclude that confidence processing occurs both during the decision process and postdecisionally, and we discuss the implications of the present findings for current theories of confidence in human judgment.

[Diabolus, disease, and Nietzsche: considerations and interpretations]. / Diabolus, choroba i Nietzsche. Rozwazania i interpretacje.

Disease shows its dual nature: it carries suffering and pain, but also means trespassing the sluggish limits of healthy life. This trespassing confirms the distance separating man from nature and, at the same time, confirms man's spirituality. Nietzsche's disease and work support this interpretation, so precisely expressed by Thomas Mann in his novel Doctor Faustus: disease contains the diabolus of human biology and human spirituality.

[Intuition in medical practice]. / Intuicja w praktyce lekarskiej.

The concept of intuition was connected in the in the 19th/20th cent. With the formation of intuitive-and-humanistic model of the medical art as opposed to the model of medicine as natural science. This concept had a metaphysical roots. It does not mean, however, that intuition does not play any role in medical treatment. In the article it is defined as a result of doctor's creative imagination based on medical experience that formulates sensual picture of a disease which undergoes rational verification.

On the utility of experiential cross-training for team decision-making under time stress.

This study investigated the effectiveness of experiential cross-training in a team context for team decision-making under time stress in a simulated naval surveillance task. It was hypothesized that teams whose members explicitly experience all team positions will perform better under time pressure due to a better shared Team Interaction Model (Cannon-Bowers et al. 1993). In addition, it was posited that experiential cross-training would reduce the negative effect of member reconfiguration that can occur in certain military situations. Three groups of teams participated in this study (cross-trained, reconfigured and control). The experiment involved three team training sessions, followed by three time-stressed exercise sessions. During training, one group of teams was cross-trained (CT) by asking each member to perform an entire session at each of the three team positions. Member reconfiguration (where each member was shifted to another's position) was unexpectedly introduced at the first of the exercise sessions for the CT group and for another group (reconfigured) that had not been cross-trained. A third (control) group was neither cross-trained nor reconfigured. During training, the performance of non-CT teams improved more quickly than that of CT teams. During the exercise, the CT group did not achieve the level of performance of the control teams. The immediate effect of team member reconfiguration was to degrade performance significantly for the non-CT teams, but not for CT teams. The findings are discussed in terms of the multiple mental models' view of team performance (Cannon-Bowers et al. 1993) and the authors discuss the relative utility of cross-training when overall training time is fixed.

Realism of confidence in sensory discrimination.

Is there a common and general basis for confidence in human judgment? Recently, we found that the properties of confidence judgments in the sensory domain mirror those previously established in the cognitive domain; notably, we found underconfidence on easy sensory judgments and overconfidence on hard sensory judgments. In contrast, data from the Uppsala laboratory in Sweden suggest that sensory judgments are unique; they found a pervasive underconfidence bias, with overconfidence being evident only on very hard sensory judgments. Olsson and Winman (1996) attempted to resolve the debate on the basis of methodological issues related to features of the stimulus display in a visual discrimination task. A reanalysis of the data reported in Baranski and Petrusic (1994), together with the findings of a new experiment that controlled stimulus display characteristics, supports the position that the difference between the Canadian and the Swedish data is real and, thus, may reflect cross-national differences in confidence in sensory discrimination.

Evaluation of a new universal jettison mechanism for helicopter underwater escape.

BACKGROUND: To date, there is no standard jettison mechanism for doors, windows, or hatches in ditched helicopters. A new Universal Escape Exit (UEE) has been invented and the performance has been compared with two current in-service systems in a helicopter underwater escape trainer. METHOD: A total of 416 evacuations were conducted by 40 subjects in two experiments using the Survival Systems Limited's underwater escape trainer. RESULTS: The UEE had a distinct 2-s advantage to escape; and, in the majority of cases, was preferred to a rotating lever or a straight push out system. CONCLUSIONS: Further work should continue with UEE development for qualification in an operational helicopter.

[Patient satisfaction from the contact with the physician]. / Satysfakcja pacjenta z kontaktu z lekarzem.

The satisfaction of a patient at the contact with a doctor results from realisation of patient's emotional and medical needs by the doctor. Lack of satisfaction reduces patient's ability to acquire and memorize information, causes unwillingness to follow doctor's instructions, eliminates the need of prophylactic examinations and decreases the level of rational response to disease symptoms. It is an emotional barrier which often makes it impossible to archive therapeutic aim.

[The dance of death theme. On the cultural erosion of the figure of imagination]. / Motyw Tanca Smierci. O kulturowej erozji figury wyobrazni.

The Dance of Death theme was the most developed figure of imagination of the late Middle Ages. Its sources were not only rich but also mysterious: oriental influence, pagan customs, Christian religion, and the habits of medieval everyday life. The imagery tendency of religious themes and the invention of wood engraving established the Dance of Death theme as a popular form of death imagery. The modern erosion of the Dance of Death theme has two reasons: 1) dying, death and corpses no longer constitute a sensual experience; 2) medical context of death disintegrated the former sacrum which has established ideological horizons of death imagery.

Similarity comparisons with remembered and perceived magnitudes: memory psychophysics and fundamental measurement.

At the outset, subjects learned to associate a label with each element in a set of perceptual magnitudes (visual extents), using traditional paired-associate learning methods. Subsequently, on some trials, subjects indicated which pair of two pairs of labels corresponded to the more similar perceptual referents, and, on other trials, they selected the more dissimilar pair. It is shown that these similarity comparisons satisfy the axioms (transitivity and intradimensional subtractivity) necessary to conclude that they are based on computation of the difference of the differences of analogue-based interval scale representations. The findings also permitted refutation of the idea that memory for elementary percepts arises from their reperception. Notably, the memory exponent was 0.697, but the perception exponent was 0.546, and the reperception idea requires that the memory exponent be the square of the perception exponent (0.546(2) = 0.298). Symbolic distance effects and enhanced response time-based semantic congruity effects, typically found with binary comparisons, extend the range of commonalties found between perceptual and memory psychophysics.

Options for liferaft entry after helicopter ditching.

METHOD: Dry and wet evacuations were conducted by 24 male and 19 female subjects from the Nutec Super Puma Simulator into two different types of aviation liferaft. RESULTS: Dry evacuation on the windward side is the method of choice. The non-canopy raft is subjectively and objectively easier to enter both from the helicopter and the sea. CONCLUSIONS: The non-canopy raft is the raft of choice, the canopy raft needs a redesign to ensure that it always inflates the correct way and both rafts need a redesign of the painter anchor point. Aircrew should have special training in open water after traditional pool training. A helicopter ditching survival compass has been developed for training all who fly over water for a living.

Probing the locus of confidence judgments: experiments on the time to determine confidence.

Three experiments investigated the properties of the time to determine confidence to determine the processing locus for the judgment of confidence. Results suggest that when the primary decision is made under speed stress, confidence is determined postdecisionally and involves a memory-based, computational algorithm. This strategy frees the primary decision of processing time and permits the accurate diagnosis of decision errors. When the primary decision is made under accuracy stress, however, the determination of confidence is initiated, or can even be completed, during the primary decision process. This strategy permits confidence to be used in the adaptive regulation of the decisional parameters during the decision process but yields poorer diagnosticity of errors when they occur. The latter finding also implies that primary decision latencies include time to determine confidence, rendering such data difficult, if not impossible, to model empirically. Implications for contemporary decision models that provide a basis for confidence in human judgment are discussed.

[Axiomatic space of the physician's office]. / Przestrzen aksjologiczna gabinetu lekarskiego.

Doctor's surgery is a space containing a number of meanings which are deliberately or unconsciously interpreted by the patient. Organization of that space, its material shape, affect a successful contact between the doctor and the patient, thanks to which a therapeutic aim is achieved.

[Rembrandt's lessons of anatomy: autopsy as the last act of torment performance]. / Lekcje anatomii Rembrandta: sekcje zwlok jako ostatni akt spektaklu kazni.

The paper discusses the problem of autopsy in the XVII century. As inspiration for reflections some paintings of Rembrandt are used. Autopsy merges in them as the last, though not the only one, act of body torment performance, thanks to which not only the secrets of human body interior but also empirical horizons of medical research are disclosed. The intellectual background of that period (Bacon's empiricism, rationalism of Descartes, mechanics) allows for medical experience and scientific knowledge about the human body.