Generic Consequences Research Articles

Using Health Intervention Messages to Reduce Intentions to Spend Time on Social Networks

Abstract: This study examined the efficacy of using behavioral feedback and social norms health message interventions to reduce social networking site (SNS) use. A total of 107 participants reported their current SNS use and attitude through endorsement of the statement “I spend too much time on social media” before being randomly assigned to read a message (control, generic consequences, social norms, or behavioral feedback). After reading the message, participants reported their future intentions to use social media and responded to the statement again. The results demonstrated a relationship between the social norms message and future intended SNS use, such that those who read information about the norm for SNS use were more likely to report that they intended to reduce their SNS use in the future. An interaction suggested that the higher the current use, the more effective it was to expose the user to the social norm. Additionally, an association was found between the behavioral feedback message and the belief that they were currently using SNSs too much, such that those who saw tailored consequences of their use were more likely to endorse the statement more strongly. Overall, using these health messages as an intervention to reduce SNS use is a promising avenue that should be explored further.

High harmonic generation spectrum of energetic molecule nitromethane

Understanding the interaction between strong laser field and energetic molecules is an important task for practical implementation of the laser-induced ignition for high energy propulsion applications. One of the generic consequences of the interaction of a strong laser field with molecules is high harmonic generation (HHG). Thus far, high harmonic generation has not been observed from any energetic molecule. The purpose of this paper is to present an HHG spectrum obtained for a simple energetic molecule, nitromethane, at various gas cell pressures and laser beam intensities. The experimental spectrum is compared and contrasted with the theoretical one obtained under the approximation of single active electron in molecular electrostatic potential. We believe that the present work would open door to the further investigation of the laser ignition chemistry of energetic molecules from an HHG point of view.

Skeletal muscle alterations in patients with acute Covid-19 and post-acute sequelae of Covid-19.

Skeletal muscle‐related symptoms are common in both acute coronavirus disease (Covid)‐19 and post‐acute sequelae of Covid‐19 (PASC). In this narrative review, we discuss cellular and molecular pathways that are affected and consider these in regard to skeletal muscle involvement in other conditions, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, critical illness myopathy, and post‐viral fatigue syndrome. Patients with severe Covid‐19 and PASC suffer from skeletal muscle weakness and exercise intolerance. Histological sections present muscle fibre atrophy, metabolic alterations, and immune cell infiltration. Contributing factors to weakness and fatigue in patients with severe Covid‐19 include systemic inflammation, disuse, hypoxaemia, and malnutrition. These factors also contribute to post‐intensive care unit (ICU) syndrome and ICU‐acquired weakness and likely explain a substantial part of Covid‐19‐acquired weakness. The skeletal muscle weakness and exercise intolerance associated with PASC are more obscure. Direct severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV)‐2 viral infiltration into skeletal muscle or an aberrant immune system likely contribute. Similarities between skeletal muscle alterations in PASC and chronic fatigue syndrome deserve further study. Both SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific factors and generic consequences of acute disease likely underlie the observed skeletal muscle alterations in both acute Covid‐19 and PASC.

Consequences of adsorbate-adsorbate interactions for apparent kinetics of surface catalytic reactions

Lateral adsorbate interactions at catalyst surfaces are known to influence adsorption energies and reaction rates. Lattice-based kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulations are able to capture these influences, but such models are typically parameterized for a specific reaction network and catalyst surface. Here we report kMC simulations to probe the influence of lateral interactions on simulated rates, rate orders, apparent activation energies, and Sabatier plots. We construct a simple, two-step reaction network involving a single adsorbate and rate-limiting diatomic dissociation, employ a generic repulsive lateral interaction model consistent with known adsorbate–adsorbate interactions on metal surfaces, and a rate model consistent with known Brønsted-Evans-Polyani relationships for diatomic dissocations. We juxtapose reaction kinetics over a wide range of reaction conditions and catalyst binding energies, as a function of interaction strength. We find that at a given zero-coverage binding energy and external conditions, adsorbate coverage decreases monotonically with increasing interaction strength, but absolute rates can vary linearly or nonlinearly. Interactions flatten the Sabatier volcano and shift the maximum towards stronger binding. Influences on apparent rate orders and activation energies are modest and are sensitive to interaction-induced adsorbate ordering. Model predictions are sensitive to lattice size effects at high coverages. The results, modelled for a simple reaction system, highlight the generic consequences of lateral interactions and guidance for identifying their signatures in observed kinetics.

Effect of characteristic size on the collective phonon transport in crystalline GeTe

We study the effect of characteristic size variation on the phonon thermal transport in crystalline GeTe for a wide range of temperatures using the first-principles density-functional method coupled with the kinetic collective model approach. The characteristic size dependence of phonon thermal transport reveals an intriguing collective phonon transport regime, located in between the ballistic and the diffusive transport regimes. Therefore, systematic investigations have been carried out to describe the signatures of phonon hydrodynamics via the competitive effects between grain size and temperature. A characteristic nonlocal length associated with phonon hydrodynamics and a heat wave propagation length has been extracted. The connections between phonon hydrodynamics and these length scales are discussed in terms of the Knudsen number. Further, the scaling relation of thermal conductivity as a function of characteristic size in the intermediate size range emerges as a crucial indicator of the strength of the hydrodynamic behavior. A ratio concerning normal and resistive scattering rates has been employed to understand these different scaling relations, which seems to control the strength and prominent visibility of the collective phonon transport in GeTe. This systematic investigation emphasizes the importance of the competitive effects between temperature and characteristic size on phonon hydrodynamics in GeTe, which can lead to a better understanding of the generic behavior and consequences of the phonon hydrodynamics and its controlling parameters in low-thermal conductivity materials.

Impulsive radio events in quiet solar corona and axion quark nugget dark matter

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) recorded \cite{Mondal-2020} impulsive radio events in the quiet solar corona at frequencies 98, 120, 132, and 160 MHz. We propose that these radio events are the direct manifestation of dark matter annihilation events within the axion quark nugget (AQN) framework. It has been argued \cite{Zhitnitsky:2017rop,Raza:2018gpb} that the AQN annihilation events in the quiet solar corona can be identified with the nanoflares conjectured by Parker \cite{Parker-1983}. We further support this claim by demonstrating that observed impulsive radio events \cite{Mondal-2020}, including their rate of appearance, their temporal and spatial distributions and their energetics, are matching the generic consequences of AQN annihilations in the quiet corona. We propose to test this idea by analyzing the correlated clustering of impulsive radio events in different frequency bands. These correlations are expressed in terms of the time delays between radio events in different frequency bands, measured in seconds. We also make generic predictions for low (80 and 89 MHz) and high (179, 196, 217 and 240 MHz) frequency bands, that have been recorded, but not published, by \cite{Mondal-2020}. We finally suggest to test our proposal by studying possible cross-correlation between MWA radio signals and Solar Orbiter recording of extreme UV photons (a.k.a. "campfires").

Asymptotic safety casts its shadow

We set out to bridge the gap between regular black-hole spacetimes and observations of a black-hole shadow by the Event Horizon Telescope. We explore modifications of spinning and non-spinning black-hole spacetimes inspired by asymptotically safe quantum gravity which features a scale dependence of the Newton coupling. As a consequence, the predictions of our model, such as the shadow shape and size, depend on one free parameter determining the curvature scale at which deviations from General Relativity set in. In more general new-physics settings, it can also depart substantially from the Planck scale. In this case, the free parameter is constrained by observations, since the corresponding curvature scale is significantly below the Planck-scale. The leading new-physics effect can be recast as a scale-dependent black-hole mass, resulting in distinct observational signatures of our model. As a concrete example, we show that two mass-measurements, extracted from the size of the shadow and from Keplerian orbital motion of stars, allow to distinguish the classical from the modified, regular black-hole spacetime, yielding a bound on the free parameter. For spinning black holes, we further find that the singularity-resolving new physics puts a characteristic dent in the shadow. Finally, we argue, based on the underlying physical mechanism, that the effects we derive could be generic consequences of a large class of quantum-gravity theories.

Resource heterogeneity leads to unjust effort distribution in climate change mitigation.

Climate change mitigation is a shared global challenge that involves collective action of a set of individuals with different tendencies to cooperation. However, we lack an understanding of the effect of resource inequality when diverse actors interact together towards a common goal. Here, we report the results of a collective-risk dilemma experiment in which groups of individuals were initially given either equal or unequal endowments. We found that the effort distribution was highly inequitable, with participants with fewer resources contributing significantly more to the public goods than the richer −sometimes twice as much. An unsupervised learning algorithm classified the subjects according to their individual behavior, finding the poorest participants within two “generous clusters” and the richest into a “greedy cluster”. Our results suggest that policies would benefit from educating about fairness and reinforcing climate justice actions addressed to vulnerable people instead of focusing on understanding generic or global climate consequences.

Normalized Neural Representations of Complex Odors.

The olfactory system removes correlations in natural odors using a network of inhibitory neurons in the olfactory bulb. It has been proposed that this network integrates the response from all olfactory receptors and inhibits them equally. However, how such global inhibition influences the neural representations of odors is unclear. Here, we study a simple statistical model of the processing in the olfactory bulb, which leads to concentration-invariant, sparse representations of the odor composition. We show that the inhibition strength can be tuned to obtain sparse representations that are still useful to discriminate odors that vary in relative concentration, size, and composition. The model reveals two generic consequences of global inhibition: (i) odors with many molecular species are more difficult to discriminate and (ii) receptor arrays with heterogeneous sensitivities perform badly. Comparing these predictions to experiments will help us to understand the role of global inhibition in shaping normalized odor representations in the olfactory bulb.

Fluctuation-dissipation dynamics of cosmological scalar fields

We show that dissipative effects have a significant impact on the evolution of cosmological scalar fields, leading to friction, entropy production and field fluctuations. We explicitly compute the dissipation coefficient for different scalar fields within the Standard Model and some of its most widely considered extensions, in different parametric regimes. We describe the generic consequences of fluctuation-dissipation dynamics in the post-inflationary universe, focusing in particular on friction and particle production, and analyze in detail two important effects. Firstly, we show that dissipative friction delays the process of spontaneous symmetry breaking and may even damp the the motion of a Higgs field sufficiently to induce a late period of warm inflation. Along with dissipative entropy production, this may parametrically dilute the abundance of dangerous thermal relics. Secondly, we show that dissipation can generate the observed baryon asymmetry without symmetry restoration, and we develop in detail a model of dissipative leptogenesis. We further show that this generically leads to characteristic baryon isocurvature perturbations that can be tested with CMB observations. This work provides a fundamental framework to go beyond the leading thermal equilibrium semi-classical approximation in addressing fundamental problems in modern cosmology.

Transcription Termination and Chimeric RNA Formation Controlled by Arabidopsis thaliana FPA

Alternative cleavage and polyadenylation influence the coding and regulatory potential of mRNAs and where transcription termination occurs. Although widespread, few regulators of this process are known. The Arabidopsis thaliana protein FPA is a rare example of a trans-acting regulator of poly(A) site choice. Analysing fpa mutants therefore provides an opportunity to reveal generic consequences of disrupting this process. We used direct RNA sequencing to quantify shifts in RNA 3′ formation in fpa mutants. Here we show that specific chimeric RNAs formed between the exons of otherwise separate genes are a striking consequence of loss of FPA function. We define intergenic read-through transcripts resulting from defective RNA 3′ end formation in fpa mutants and detail cryptic splicing and antisense transcription associated with these read-through RNAs. We identify alternative polyadenylation within introns that is sensitive to FPA and show FPA-dependent shifts in IBM1 poly(A) site selection that differ from those recently defined in mutants defective in intragenic heterochromatin and DNA methylation. Finally, we show that defective termination at specific loci in fpa mutants is shared with dicer-like 1 (dcl1) or dcl4 mutants, leading us to develop alternative explanations for some silencing roles of these proteins. We relate our findings to the impact that altered patterns of 3′ end formation can have on gene and genome organisation.

Hydration of metal surfaces can be dynamically heterogeneous and hydrophobic

We have applied molecular dynamics and methods of importance sampling to study structure and dynamics of liquid water in contact with metal surfaces. The specific surfaces considered resemble the 100 and 111 faces of platinum. Several results emerge that should apply generally, not just to platinum. These results are generic consequences of water molecules binding strongly to surfaces that are incommensurate with favorable hydrogen-bonding patterns. We show that adlayers of water under these conditions have frustrated structures that interact unfavorably with adjacent liquid water. We elucidate dynamical processes of water in these cases that extend over a broad range of timescales, from less than picoseconds to more than nanoseconds. Associated spatial correlations extend over nanometers. We show that adlayer reorganization occurs intermittently, and each reorganization event correlates motions of several molecules. We show that soft liquid interfaces form adjacent to the adlayer, as is generally characteristic of liquid water adjacent to a hydrophobic surface. The infrequent adlayer reorganization produces a hydrophobic heterogeneity that we characterize by studying the degrees by which different regions of the adlayers attract small hydrophobic particles. Consequences for electrochemistry are discussed in the context of hydronium ions being attracted from the liquid to the metal–adlayer surface.

When the collective acts on its components: economic crisis autocatalytic percolation

Agent-based models have improved the standards for empirical support and validation criteria in social, biological, cognitive and human sciences. Yet, the inclusion, in these models, of vertical interactions between various aggregation levels remains a challenge. We study analytically, numerically and by simulation the generic consequences of interactions between the collective and its individual components: the appearance of an autocatalytic loop between the dynamics of the collective and its components; the system, which is dominated by a limited number of factors amplified by this collective↔individuals autocatalytic loop; the microscopic features, which are not involved in the autocatalytic loop and are irrelevant at the systemic level; and how the above clarify the interplay between macroscopic predictable features and the ones dependent on random unpredictable individual events. Using the social and market percolation framework, we study the dramatic effects of the collective↔individuals autocatalytic loop on economic crisis propagation: the percolation transition becomes discontinuous; there are a few relevant regions and regimes corresponding to a quite diverse range of response policy options; there are stability ranges where appropriate policies can help to avoid macroscopic crisis percolation; and beyond those regions the systemic crisis might become unstoppable.

Ground-state degeneracy and low-temperature thermodynamics of correlated electrons on highly frustrated lattices

Highly frustrated lattices yield a completely flat lowest single-electron band. Remarkably, exact many-body ground states can be constructed for the repulsive Hubbard model and the t J model by filling this flat band with localized electron states. This construction leads to a macroscopic ground-state degeneracy. We discuss how to compute these ground-state degeneracies for a certain class of models, including in particular the sawtooth chain. Furthermore, we discuss generic consequences for lowtemperature thermodynamic properties, like the appearance of a low-temperature peak in the specific heat. Finally, we present complementary numerical results obtained by exact diagonalization.

Elucidating Anomalous Protein Diffusion in Living Cells with Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy—Facts and Pitfalls

Anomalous protein diffusion has been frequently observed in intracellular fluids and on membranes of living cells. Indeed, a large variety of specimen, from bacteriae to mammalian cells, and several non-invasive measurement techniques, e.g. fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, have revealed that the mean square displacement (MSD) of proteins in vivo is often characterized by an anomalous power-law increase mean value of tau(t)(2) mean value of ~ t(alpha) with 0.5 < alpha </= 0.8. Here, we review these results with a particular focus on fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, and we report on possible causes of variations of the anomaly degree alpha. Moreover, we highlight generic consequences of anomalous diffusion that are likely to play an important role in the cellular context.

Probing the Interior of Living Cells with Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy

To a large extent the cellular interior is occupied by two complex fluids, the cytoplasm and the nucleoplasm, both of which show a considerable degree of macromolecular crowding. While it is easy to imagine that the chromosomal DNA provides the nucleoplasm with properties similar to a polymer melt, the material properties of the cytoplasm are also affected by the high amount of dissolved macromolecules, the cytoskeletal network, and dispersed organelles. By virtue of the strongly obstructed random motion, reactions in the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm are not comparable to the aqueous conditions commonly used in biochemical experiments. To overcome this gap, a thorough understanding of the material properties of intracellular fluids, and hence transport properties within the cell, is mandatory. Here, we review some recent results on bulk diffusion in living cells and some generic consequences that arise from these observations.

Ethics and self-knowledge in corruption related decision making

The nature of corruption in international business is briefly considered and several types of bribes are distinguished. Two managerial decision-models are then proposed, in order to assist international managers faced with corruption-related situations. The first model is based upon an ethical analysis and it conditionally endorses some types of facilitating-payment. The second is based upon a psychological analysis and it involves identification and classification of the generic consequences of bribe payments. The two models are intended to form part of a wider and multifaceted approach to reducing corruption.

Towards a practical framework for managing the risks of selecting technology to support independent living

Information and communication technology applications can help increase the independence and quality of life of older people, or people with disabilities who live in their own homes. A risk management framework is proposed to assist in selecting applications that match the needs and wishes of particular individuals. Risk comprises two components: the likelihood of the occurrence of harm and the consequences of that harm. In the home, the social and psychological harms are as important as the physical ones. The importance of the harm (e.g., injury) is conditioned by its consequences (e.g., distress, costly medical treatment). We identify six generic types of harm (including dependency, loneliness, fear and debt) and four generic consequences (including distress and loss of confidence in ability to live independently). The resultant client-centred framework offers a systematic basis for selecting and evaluating technology for independent living.

Loop-corrected compactifications of the heterotic string with line bundles

We consider the E8 x E8 heterotic string theory compactified on Calabi-Yau manifolds with bundles containing abelian factors in their structure group. Generic low energy consequences such as the generalised Green-Schwarz mechanism for the multiple anomalous abelian gauge groups are studied. We also compute the holomorphic gauge couplings and induced Fayet-Iliopoulos terms up to one-loop order, where the latter are interpreted as stringy one-loop corrections to the Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau condition. Such models generically have frozen combinations of Kaehler and dilaton moduli. We study concrete bundles with structure group SU(N) x U(1)^M yielding quasi-realistic gauge groups with chiral matter given by certain bundle cohomology classes. We also provide a number of explicit tadpole free examples of bundles defined by exact sequences of sums of line bundles over complete intersection Calabi-Yau spaces. This includes one example with precisely the Standard Model gauge symmetry.

Asymmetric Polarity Reversals, Bimodal Field Distribution, and Coherence Resonance in a Spherically Symmetric Mean-Field Dynamo Model

Using a mean-field dynamo model with a spherically symmetric helical turbulence parameter alpha which is algebraically quenched and disturbed by additional noise, the basic features of geomagnetic polarity reversals are shown to be generic consequences of the dynamo action in the vicinity of exceptional points of the spectrum. This simple paradigmatic model yields long periods of constant polarity which are interrupted by self-accelerating field decays leading to asymmetric polarity reversals. It shows the recently discovered bimodal field distribution, and it gives a natural explanation of the correlation between polarity persistence time and field strength. The dependence of the persistence time on the noise shows typical features of coherence resonance.