Simple Behavior Research Articles

Simple behaviors to cope during times of uncertainty – a population representative prospective study

Simple behaviors to cope during times of uncertainty – a population representative prospective study

A review of theories and methods in the science of face-to-face social interaction

For most of human history, face-to-face interactions have been the primary and most fundamental way to build social relationships, and even in the digital era they remain the basis of our closest bonds. These interactions are built on the dynamic integration and coordination of verbal and non-verbal information between multiple people. However, the psychological processes underlying face-to-face interaction remain difficult to study. In this Review, we discuss three ways the multimodal phenomena underlying face-to-face social interaction can be organized to provide a solid basis for theory development. Next, we review three types of theory of social interaction: theories that focus on the social meaning of actions, theories that explain actions in terms of simple behaviour rules and theories that rely on rich cognitive models of the internal states of others. Finally, we address how different methods can be used to distinguish between theories, showcasing new approaches and outlining important directions for future research. Advances in how face-to-face social interaction can be studied, combined with a renewed focus on cognitive theories, could lead to a renaissance in social interaction research and advance scientific understanding of face-to-face interaction and its underlying cognitive foundations.

Transcranial Neuromodulation Array With Imaging Aperture for Simultaneous Multifocus Stimulation in Nonhuman Primates.

Even simple behaviors arise from the simultaneous activation of multiple regions in the brain. Thus, the ability to simultaneously stimulate multiple regions within a brain circuit should allow for better modulation of function. However, performing simultaneous multifocus ultrasound neuromodulation introduces challenges to transducer design. Using 3-D Fullwave simulations, we have designed an ultrasound neuromodulation array for nonhuman primates that: 1) can simultaneously focus on multiple targets and 2) include an imaging aperture for additional functional imaging. This design is based on a spherical array, with 128 15-mm elements distributed in a spherical helix pattern. It is shown that clustering the elements tightly around the 65-mm imaging aperture located at the top of the array improves targeting at shallow depths, near the skull surface. Spherical arrays have good focusing capabilities through the skull at the center of the array, but focusing on off-center locations is more challenging due to the natural geometric configuration and the angle of incidence with the skull. In order to mitigate this, the 64 elements closest to the aperture were rotated toward and focusing on a shallow target, and the 64 elements farthest from the aperture were rotated toward and focusing on a deeper target. Data illustrated that this array produced focusing on the somatosensory cortex with a gain of 4.38 and to the thalamus with a gain of 3.82. To improve upon this, the array placement was optimized based on phase aberration simulations, allowing for the elements with the largest impact on the gain at each focal point to be found. This optimization resulted in an array design that can focus on the somatosensory cortex with a gain of 5.19 and the thalamus with a gain of 4.45. Simulations were also performed to evaluate the ability of the array to focus on 28 additional brain regions, showing that off-center target regions can be stimulated, but those closer to the skull will require corrective steps to deliver the same amount of energy to those locations. This simulation and design process can be adapted to an individual monkey or human skull morphologies and specific target locations within individuals by using orientable 3-D printing of the transducer case and by electronic phase aberration correction.

The structuring effect of the alkyl domains on the polar network of ionic liquid mixtures: a molecular dynamics study.

By using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the structural and dynamic properties of mixtures of 1,3-dimethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, [C1C1im][Tf2N] and 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, [C12C1im][Tf2N] (also C1 and C12 in short). Such mixtures feature an imidazolium bistriflimide salt with a very short alkyl chain, not giving rise to any nano-segregation as a pure component, with another one with a longer alkyl chain that exhibits a substantial nano-segregation as a pure liquid. As the mole fraction of the long-chain component C12 is increased, the so-called pre-peak of the structure factor S(q), occurring in the region 1-3 nm-1, shows a shift to higher values of the wavevector q, mirroring a decrease of the corresponding correlation length. Moreover, the intensity of the pre-peak strongly increases with the C12 concentration. These results are in very good agreement with experimental X-ray scattering data in the literature. On the other hand, the diffusion of the ions is found to exhibit a simple behaviour consistent with the increased viscosity of the mixture, and these results are also in good agreement with NMR experimental data from the literature. The simulation results are rationalized as caused by a structuring effect, similar to the hydrophobic effect, of the alkyl domains of the C12 component dissolved in the "solvent" represented by the C1 cation, the Tf2N- anion and the C12 cation head. In short, the exclusion of the alkyl chains from the polar network, a process mostly governed by electrostatic interactions, favours the formation of hydrophobic domains, which in turn exert a structuring effect on the ions of the polar domains, favouring a stronger ionic interaction. This is finally reflected in a shorter correlation length and a higher intensity of the pre-peak of the structure factor S(q) as the C12 mole fraction is increased. At variance with the microscopic structure, the diffusion of all three types of ions is not strongly influenced by the nano-segregation and is essentially dependent on the viscosity of the mixture.

Новые свойства рекуррентных движений и предельных множеств динамических систем

In the earlier article by the authors [A.P. Afanas’ev, S. M. Dzyuba “About new properties of recurrent motions and minimal sets of dynamical systems”, Russian Universities Reports. Mathematics, 26:133 (2021), 5–14] a connection between general motions and recurrent motions in a compact metric space is established, and a very simple behavior of recurrent motions is proved. Based on these results, we introduce here a new definition of recurrent motion which, in contrast to the one widely used in modern literature, provides fairly complete information about the structure of a recurrent motion as a function of time and, therefore, is more illustrative. At the same time, we show that in an abstract metric space, the proposed definition is equivalent to Birkhoff’s definition and is equivalent to the generally accepted modern definition in a complete metric space. Necessary and sufficient conditions for recurrence (in the sense of the definition proposed in the article) of a motion in a compact metric space are obtained. It is proved that α- and ω-limit sets of any motion are minimal in a compact metric space (this assertion was announced in an earlier paper by the authors). From the minimality of α- and ω-limit sets, it is deduced that in a compact metric space, each positively (negatively) Poisson-stable point lies on the trajectory of a recurrent motion, i.e. is a point of a minimal set, and thus, in a compact metric space with a finite positive invariant measure almost all points are points of minimal sets.

Universal Behavior of the Scattering Matrix Near Thresholds in Photonics.

Scattering thresholds and their associated spectral square root branch points are ubiquitous in photonics. In this Letter, we show that the scattering matrix has a simple universal behavior near scattering thresholds. We use unitarity, reciprocity, and time-reversal symmetry to construct a two-parameter model for a two-port scattering matrix near a threshold. We demonstrate this universal behavior in three different optical systems, namely, a photonic crystal slab, a planar dielectric interface, and a junction between metallic waveguides of different widths.

Neural markers of proactive and reactive cognitive control are altered during walking: A Mobile Brain-Body Imaging (MoBI) study

The processing of sensory information and the generation of motor commands needed to produce coordinated actions can interfere with ongoing cognitive tasks. Even simple motor behaviors like walking can alter cognitive task performance. This cognitive-motor interference (CMI) could arise from disruption of planning in anticipation of carrying out the task (proactive control) and/or from disruption of the execution of the task (reactive control). In young healthy adults, walking-induced interference with behavioral performance may not be readily observable because flexibility in neural circuits can compensate for the added demands of simultaneous loads. In this study, cognitive-motor loads were systematically increased during cued task-switching while underlying neurophysiologic changes in proactive and reactive mechanisms were measured. Brain activity was recorded from 22 healthy young adults using 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG) based Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) as they alternately sat or walked during performance of cued task-switching. Walking altered neurophysiological indices of both proactive and reactive control. Walking amplified cue-evoked late fontal slow waves, and reduced the amplitude of target-evoked fronto-central N2 and parietal P3. The effects of walking on evoked neural responses systematically increased as the task became increasingly difficult. This may provide an objective brain marker of increasing cognitive load, and may prove to be useful in identifying seemingly healthy individuals who are currently able to disguise ongoing degenerative processes through active compensation. If, however, degeneration continues unabated these people may reach a compensatory limit at which point both cognitive performance and control of coordinated actions may decline rapidly.

How does the brain orchestrate survival?

Eating when hungry, drinking when thirsty and fear under threat are essential behaviors for animal survival produced by the long evolution of life. We found that the brain processes these simple survival behaviors in a surprisingly complex way. The brain encodes different survival behaviors using combinations of brain cell types, like the instruments in an orchestra playing different symphonies. - submission by Shengjin Xu, Hui Yang, Scott M. Sternson

Electron Transport in Double-Barrier Semiconductor Heterostructures for Thermionic Cooling

We investigate electron transport in asymmetric double-barrier ($\mathrm{Al},\mathrm{Ga})\mathrm{As}/\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}$ thermionic cooling heterostructures. Measurements of temperature-dependent current-voltage characteristics confirm that the dominant electron transport is a sequential process of resonant tunneling injection into and thermionic emission from the quantum-well (QW) cooling layer. The thermal activation energy of the current is found to be strongly dependent on the bias voltage. Furthermore, instead of showing a simple thermal activation behavior, the current exhibits rather complicated temperature and voltage dependence, particularly when the thermionic emission barrier is low. To establish a quantitative understanding, we develop an intuitive analytical model for sequential electron transport that explicitly takes into account scattering effects in the thermionic emission process from the two-dimensional QW states to the three-dimensional above-barrier states. The observed temperature-dependent sequential current is well explained by the present theory.

Formation of {100} Subgrain Variants and Σ3 Variants During Phase Transformation of Columnar Grains in Electrical Steel: Texture Memory and Variant Selection

The columnar grains are composed of near‐{100} subgrain variants, Σ3 variants, and untransformed coarse columnar grains. As the Si content increases from 0.35% to 1%, the untransformed columnar grains are remarkably reduced, but the {100} subgrain variants still exist significantly. The phase transformation strain induced by {100} subgrain variants is large, while that induced by small equiaxed grains, which conform to Σ3 relationship with columnar grains, is lower. During the twice‐phase transformations, even if the variants appear randomly, the probability of occurrence of the {100} variants is 33.3%. Moreover, the {100} subgrain variants mainly appear as single variants because the phase transformation strain of the single variant, which is independent of orientation, is higher than that of the variant pair. Although the strain energy of the {100} subgrains has no advantage, the low‐angle grain boundary interface energy is lower than other high‐angle grain boundaries except for Σ3, which contributes to the appearance of the {100} subgrain variants. The appearance of the Σ3 relationships is to reduce the overall energy, rather than the simple strain accommodation behavior between variants. Beyond that, the actual phase transformation does not follow the strict K−S relationship.

In-situ construction of RE conversion coating on Mn surface and comparison of chain corrosion blocking mechanism

Different from the simple first-order oxidation behavior of other metal, Mn is prone to complex chain corrosion reaction due to its own polyvalence and Mn 2+ instability. In this paper, it is found that rare earth salts can be constructed in situ on the electrolytic manganese surface to obtain a composite RE conversion coating with RE 3+ and Mn 2+ coexisting. The coating can improve the stability of Mn 2+ , effectively inhibit the bad transformation of Mn 2+ to higher valence Mn 3+ /Mn 4+ , thereby blocking the chain corrosion reaction. Both La and Y conversion coating have good corrosion resistance, stability, corrosion resistance strength and durability, and their i corr are 1.638 × 10 −6 A/cm 2 and 2.750 × 10 −6 A/cm 2 , which are reduced by two orders of magnitude. Although the coating performance is not much different, the formation and corrosion process are quite different due to the differences in the RE properties. The comparison of chain corrosion blocking mechanism of electrolytic manganese is of great significance not only to the passivation technology, but also to the application of RE salts in metal passivation. • Emphasize the importance of chain corrosion blocking to electrolytic manganese. • Form a composite coating with RE 3+ and Mn 2+ coexisting in the form of in-situ construction. • The differences and reasons between different RE conversion coatings were analyzed. • RE conversion coating has good corrosion resistance, stability and durability. • RE conversion coating can improve the stability of Mn 2+ and inhibit its further oxidation.

The activity of the intrinsically water-soluble enzyme ADAMTS13 correlates with the membrane state when bound to a phospholipid bilayer

Membrane-associated enzymes have been found to behave differently qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of activity. These findings were highly debated in the 1970s and many general correlations and reaction specific models have been proposed, reviewed, and discarded. However, new biological applications brought up the need for clarification and elucidation. To address literature shortcomings, we chose the intrinsically water-soluble enzyme a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13 (ADAMTS13) and large unilamellar vesicles with a relative broad phase transition. We here present activity measurements of ADAMTS13 in the freely dissolved state and the membrane associated state for phosphocholine lipids with different acyl-chain lengths (13:0, 14:0 and 15:0) and thus main phase transition temperatures. While the freely dissolved enzyme shows a simple Arrhenius behavior, the activity of membrane associated ADAMTS13 in addition shows a peak. This peak temperature correlates with the main phase transition temperature of the used lipids. These findings support an alternative theory of catalysis. This theory predicts a correlation of the membrane associated activity and the heat capacity, as both are susceptibilities of the same surface Gibb’s free energy, since the enzyme is attached to the membrane.

Social Distance in Interactions between Children with Autism and Robots

The use of non-industrial robots, called service robots, is increasing in the welfare fields to meet the demand for robot therapy among individuals with autism. The more simple communication structures and repetitive behaviors of robots, compared to humans, make it easier for children with autism to interpret communication and respond appropriately. Interacting with a robot allows for social distance to be designed and maintained depending on a person’s social interaction needs. To simulate natural social interactions, robots need to perform social distance in some way. In the context of interacting with autistic children, understanding their social response levels is crucial for the robot to implement decisions regarding the distance kept during the interaction. In this study, an experiment was conducted to examine the accuracy of a detection program and explore the correlations between the social responsiveness of children and social distance, wherein 15 autistic children interacted with a robot on a one-to-one basis for about 20 min. The results revealed that both programs implemented in the robot-assisted autism therapy were effective in detecting social distance in a natural HRI situation.

Quasiparticle kinetic theory for Calogero models

We show that the quasiparticle kinetic theory for quantum and classical Calogero models reduces to the free-streaming Boltzmann equation. We reconcile this simple emergent behaviour with the strongly interacting character of the model by developing a Bethe–Lax correspondence in the classical case. This demonstrates explicitly that the freely propagating degrees of freedom are not bare particles, but rather quasiparticles corresponding to eigenvectors of the Lax matrix. We apply the resulting kinetic theory to classical Calogero particles in external trapping potentials and find excellent agreement with numerical simulations in all cases, both for harmonic traps that preserve integrability and exhibit perfect revivals, and for anharmonic traps that break microscopic integrability. Our framework also yields a simple description of multi-soliton solutions in a harmonic trap, with solitons corresponding to sharp peaks in the quasiparticle density. Extensions to quantum systems of Calogero particles are discussed.

Systematic shifts in scaling behavior based on organizational strategy in universities.

To build better theories of cities, companies, and other social institutions such as universities, requires that we understand the tradeoffs and complementarities that exist between their core functions, and that we understand bounds to their growth. Scaling theory has been a powerful tool for addressing such questions in diverse physical, biological and urban systems, revealing systematic quantitative regularities between size and function. Here we apply scaling theory to the social sciences, taking a synoptic view of an entire class of institutions. The United States higher education system serves as an ideal case study, since it includes over 5,800 institutions with shared broad objectives, but ranges in strategy from vocational training to the production of novel research, contains public, nonprofit and for-profit models, and spans sizes from 10 to roughly 100,000 enrolled students. We show that, like organisms, ecosystems and cities, universities and colleges scale in a surprisingly systematic fashion following simple power-law behavior. Comparing seven commonly accepted sectors of higher education organizations, we find distinct regimes of scaling between a school’s total enrollment and its expenditures, revenues, graduation rates and economic added value. Our results quantify how each sector leverages specific economies of scale to address distinct priorities. Taken together, the scaling of features within a sector along with the shifts in scaling across sectors implies that there are generic mechanisms and constraints shared by all sectors, which lead to tradeoffs between their different societal functions and roles. We highlight the strong complementarity between public and private research universities, and community and state colleges, that all display superlinear returns to scale. In contrast to the scaling of biological systems, our results highlight that much of the observed scaling behavior is modulated by the particular strategies of organizations rather than an immutable set of constraints.

Collapse of complexity of brain and body activity due to excessive inhibition and MeCP2 disruption

Complex body movements require complex dynamics and coordination among neurons in motor cortex. Conversely, a long-standing theoretical notion supposes that if many neurons in motor cortex become excessively synchronized, they may lack the necessary complexity for healthy motor coding. However, direct experimental support for this idea is rare and underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here we recorded three-dimensional body movements and spiking activity of many single neurons in motor cortex of rats with enhanced synaptic inhibition and a transgenic rat model of Rett syndrome (RTT). For both cases, we found a collapse of complexity in the motor system. Reduced complexity was apparent in lower-dimensional, stereotyped brain-body interactions, neural synchrony, and simpler behavior. Our results demonstrate how imbalanced inhibition can cause excessive synchrony among movement-related neurons and, consequently, a stereotyped motor code. Excessive inhibition and synchrony may underlie abnormal motor function in RTT.

Multi-Domain Touchscreen-Based Cognitive Assessment of C57BL/6J Female Mice Shows Whole-Body Exposure to 56Fe Particle Space Radiation in Maturity Improves Discrimination Learning Yet Impairs Stimulus-Response Rule-Based Habit Learning.

Astronauts during interplanetary missions will be exposed to galactic cosmic radiation, including charged particles like 56Fe. Most preclinical studies with mature, “astronaut-aged” rodents suggest space radiation diminishes performance in classical hippocampal- and prefrontal cortex-dependent tasks. However, a rodent cognitive touchscreen battery unexpectedly revealed 56Fe radiation improves the performance of C57BL/6J male mice in a hippocampal-dependent task (discrimination learning) without changing performance in a striatal-dependent task (rule-based learning). As there are conflicting results on whether the female rodent brain is preferentially injured by or resistant to charged particle exposure, and as the proportion of female vs. male astronauts is increasing, further study on how charged particles influence the touchscreen cognitive performance of female mice is warranted. We hypothesized that, similar to mature male mice, mature female C57BL/6J mice exposed to fractionated whole-body 56Fe irradiation (3 × 6.7cGy 56Fe over 5 days, 600 MeV/n) would improve performance vs. Sham conditions in touchscreen tasks relevant to hippocampal and prefrontal cortical function [e.g., location discrimination reversal (LDR) and extinction, respectively]. In LDR, 56Fe female mice more accurately discriminated two discrete conditioned stimuli relative to Sham mice, suggesting improved hippocampal function. However, 56Fe and Sham female mice acquired a new simple stimulus-response behavior and extinguished this acquired behavior at similar rates, suggesting similar prefrontal cortical function. Based on prior work on multiple memory systems, we next tested whether improved hippocampal-dependent function (discrimination learning) came at the expense of striatal stimulus-response rule-based habit learning (visuomotor conditional learning). Interestingly, 56Fe female mice took more days to reach criteria in this striatal-dependent rule-based test relative to Sham mice. Together, our data support the idea of competition between memory systems, as an 56Fe-induced decrease in striatal-based learning is associated with enhanced hippocampal-based learning. These data emphasize the power of using a touchscreen-based battery to advance our understanding of the effects of space radiation on mission critical cognitive function in females, and underscore the importance of preclinical space radiation risk studies measuring multiple cognitive processes, thereby preventing NASA’s risk assessments from being based on a single cognitive domain.

Solid–Liquid Equilibria for Five Binary Mixtures of Tetradecanoic Acid or Dodecanoic Acid with Three Heavy Paraffins Using DSC Measurements

Solid–liquid equilibrium (SLE) results for binary mixtures of either tetradecanoic acid (C14H28O2) or dodecanoic acid (C12H24O2) with three heavy paraffins of octadecane (C18H38), eicosane (C20H42), and docosane (C22H46) are presented in this study. The experimental measurements were conducted using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The experimental SLE data for five binary systems are reported and all systems show simple eutectic behavior. The fractional transformation values were determined using the heat generated during various time intervals from DSC analyses. Eutectic compositions were evaluated by plotting the eutectic fraction against composition. These experimental SLE data were correlated using the Wilson activity coefficient model, and the best-fitted binary parameters for all systems are illustrated. These novel SLE data supply useful information for the separation process or the design of phase-change materials (PCMs).

Delay Effects on Amplitude Death, Oscillation Death, and Renewed Limit Cycle Behavior in Cyclically Coupled Oscillators

The effects of a distributed `weak generic kernel' delay on cyclically coupled limit cycle and chaotic oscillators are considered. For coupled Van der Pol oscillators (and in fact, other oscillators as well) the delay can produce transitions from amplitude death(AD) or oscillation death (OD) to Hopf bifurcation-induced periodic behavior, with the delayed limit cycle shrinking or growing as the delay is varied towards or away from the bifurcation point respectively. The transition from AD to OD is mediated here via a pitchfork bifurcation, as seen earlier for other couplings as well. Also, the cyclically coupled undelayed van der Pol system here is already in a state of AD/OD, and introducing the delay allows both oscillations and AD/OD as the delay parameter is varied. This is in contrast to other limit cycle systems, where diffusive coupling alone does not result in the onset of AD/OD.\\ For systems where the individual oscillators are chaotic, such as a Sprott oscillator system or a coupled van der Pol-Rayleigh system with parametric forcing, the delay may produce AD/OD (as in the Sprott case), with the AD to OD transition now occurring via a transcritical bifurcation instead. However, this may not be possible, and the delay might just vary the attractor shape. In either of these situations however, increased delay strength tends to cause the system to have simpler behavior, streamlining the shape of the attractor, or shrinking it in cases with oscillations.

The Effect of Brand Salience and Community on Brand Love, Loyalty and Brand Advocacy (Survey on Riamiranda Brand Customers in Indonesia)

Consumers in their decision-making process have undergone changes, which were originally simple behaviors that have developed into complex and highly dynamic processes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of brand salience and community on brand love, loyalty and brand advocacy” (a survey of Riamiranda brand customers in Indonesia). The approach used in this research is explanatory research (explanatory research) with a quantitative paradigm and survey methods. The research was conducted throughout Indonesia and was conducted with an online survey with the consideration to reach all respondents in Indonesia without borders (borderless). The population used is all Riamiranda customers in Indonesia. The number of the population cannot be known with certainty so that the sample in this study was determined using the Machin and Campbell (1989) formula so that the research sample was rounded off from the first iteration of 200 respondents. The sampling technique that can be used is purporsive sampling. The results show 1) Brand Salience has a positive and significant influence on Brand Love 2) Brand Salience has a positive and significant influence on Loyalty 3) Community has a positive and significant influence on brand love 4) Community has a positive and significant influence on loyalty 5) brand love has a positive and significant influence on loyalty. The brand salience variable has a dominant influence on brand love and loyalty so that if HRM wants to increase consumer loyalty, what must be considered is product knowledge, Keywords: brand salience, brand love, community, loyalty DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-20-03 Publication date: October 31 st 2021