69 research outputs found
The dark triad and willingness to commit insurance fraud
We evaluated how the dark triad (DT) personality traits (Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, Narcissism) influence willingness to claim for insurance in an online setting. In two mTurk studies (Ns 344 and 699) we created realistic online insurance claim tasks where participants could file claims for insured household items they had supposedly broken. We predicted âfibbingâ (i.e., overclaiming the item values) in these tasks using the DT traits. However, within Study 2, we included monetary incentives and situational factors relating to claimingâthat is, whether the items were broken in anger, while drunk, or by sheer accident. In both studies all DT traits predicted fibbing, but the results were weak for psychopathy in Study 1, while in Study 2 psychopathy was the strongest individual predictor of fibbing. Our results help understand why certain people are willing to commit insurance fraud, and provide an opening for further interdisciplinary research on insurance and personality science.Peer reviewe
One-Component Order Parameter in URuSi Uncovered by Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy and Machine Learning
The unusual correlated state that emerges in URuSi below T =
17.5 K is known as "hidden order" because even basic characteristics of the
order parameter, such as its dimensionality (whether it has one component or
two), are "hidden". We use resonant ultrasound spectroscopy to measure the
symmetry-resolved elastic anomalies across T. We observe no anomalies in
the shear elastic moduli, providing strong thermodynamic evidence for a
one-component order parameter. We develop a machine learning framework that
reaches this conclusion directly from the raw data, even in a crystal that is
too small for traditional resonant ultrasound. Our result rules out a broad
class of theories of hidden order based on two-component order parameters, and
constrains the nature of the fluctuations from which unconventional
superconductivity emerges at lower temperature. Our machine learning framework
is a powerful new tool for classifying the ubiquitous competing orders in
correlated electron systems
"To bluff like a man or fold like a girl?" - Gender biased deceptive behavior in online poker
Evolutionary psychology suggests that men are more likely than women to deceive to bolster their status and influence. Also gender perception influences deceptive behavior, which is linked to pervasive gender stereotypes: women are typically viewed as weaker and more gullible than men. We assessed bluffing in an online experiment (N = 502), where participants made decisions to bluff or not in simulated poker tasks against opponents represented by avatars. Participants bluffed on average 6% more frequently at poker tables with femaleonly avatars than at tables with male-only or gender mixed avatars-a highly significant effect in games involving repeated decisions. Nonetheless, participants did not believe the avatar genders affected their decisions. Males bluffed 13% more frequently than females. Unlike most economic games employed exclusively in research contexts, online poker is played for money by tens of millions of people worldwide. Thus, gender effects in bluffing have significant monetary consequences for poker players.Peer reviewe
Scale-invariant magnetic anisotropy in RuCl at high magnetic fields
In RuCl, inelastic neutron scattering and Raman spectroscopy reveal a
continuum of non-spin-wave excitations that persists to high temperature,
suggesting the presence of a spin liquid state on a honeycomb lattice. In the
context of the Kitaev model, magnetic fields introduce finite interactions
between the elementary excitations, and thus the effects of high magnetic
fields - comparable to the spin exchange energy scale - must be explored. Here
we report measurements of the magnetotropic coefficient - the second derivative
of the free energy with respect to magnetic field orientation - over a wide
range of magnetic fields and temperatures. We find that magnetic field and
temperature compete to determine the magnetic response in a way that is
independent of the large intrinsic exchange interaction energy. This emergent
scale-invariant magnetic anisotropy provides evidence for a high degree of
exchange frustration that favors the formation of a spin liquid state in
RuCl.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1901.09245.
Nature Physic
Variability in Surgical Treatment of Spondylolisthesis Among Spine Surgeons
Background
There are a multitude of treatments for low-grade lumbar spondylolisthesis. There are no clear guidelines for the optimal approach.
Objective
To identify the surgical treatment patterns for spondylolisthesis among United States spine surgeons.
Methods
445 spine surgeons in the United States completed a survey of clinical/radiographic case scenarios on patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis with neurogenic claudication with (S+BP) or without (SâBP) associated mechanical back pain. Treatment options included decompression, laminectomy with posterolateral fusion, posterior lumbar interbody fusion, or none of the above. The primary outcome measure was the probability of 2 randomly chosen surgeons disagreeing on the treatment method.
Results
There was 64% disagreement (36% agreement) among surgeons for treatment of spondylolisthesis with mechanical back pain (S+BP) and 71% disagreement (29% agreement) for spondylolisthesis without mechanical back pain (SâBP). For S+BP, disagreement was 52% for those practicing 5 to 10 years versus 70% among those practicing more than 20 years. Orthopedic surgeons had greater disagreement than did neurosurgeons (76% vs. 56%) for S+BP. Greater clinical equipoise was seen for SâBP than for S+BP regardless of surgeon characteristics. For spondylolisthesis without mechanical back pain, neurosurgeons were significantly more likely to select decompression-only than were orthopedic surgeons, who more commonly selected fusion.
Conclusions
Clinical equipoise exists for the treatment of spondylolisthesis. Differences are greater when the patient presents without associated back pain. Surgeon case volume, practice duration, and specialty training influence operative decisions for a given pathologic condition. Recognizing this practice variation will hopefully lead to better evidence and practice guidelines for the optimal and most cost-effective treatment paradigms
Distinct and stage-specific contributions of TET1 and TET2 to stepwise cytosine oxidation in the transition from naive to primed pluripotency
Cytosine DNA bases can be methylated by DNA methyltransferases and subsequently oxidized by TET proteins. The resulting 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC), and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC) are considered demethylation intermediates as well as stable epigenetic marks. To dissect the contributions of these cytosine modifying enzymes, we generated combinations of Tet knockout (KO) embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and systematically measured protein and DNA modification levels at the transition from naive to primed pluripotency. Whereas the increase of genomic 5-methylcytosine (5mC) levels during exit from pluripotency correlated with an upregulation of the de novo DNA methyltransferases DNMT3A and DNMT3B, the subsequent oxidation steps turned out to be far more complex. The strong increase of oxidized cytosine bases (5hmC, 5fC, and 5caC) was accompanied by a drop in TET2 levels, yet the analysis of KO cells suggested that TET2 is responsible for most 5fC formation. The comparison of modified cytosine and enzyme levels in Tet KO cells revealed distinct and differentiation-dependent contributions of TET1 and TET2 to 5hmC and 5fC formation arguing against a processive mechanism of 5mC oxidation. The apparent independent steps of 5hmC and 5fC formation suggest yet to be identified mechanisms regulating TET activity that may constitute another layer of epigenetic regulation
Resonant torsion magnetometry in anisotropic quantum materials
Unusual behavior of quantum materials commonly arises from their effective
low-dimensional physics, which reflects the underlying anisotropy in the spin
and charge degrees of freedom. Torque magnetometry is a highly sensitive
technique to directly quantify the anisotropy in quantum materials, such as the
layered high-T superconductors, anisotropic quantum spin-liquids, and the
surface states of topological insulators. Here we introduce the magnetotropic
coefficient , the second derivative of the
free energy F with respect to the angle between the sample and the
applied magnetic field, and report a simple and effective method to
experimentally detect it. A sub-g crystallite is placed at the tip of a
commercially available atomic force microscopy cantilever, and we show that
can be quantitatively inferred from a shift in the resonant frequency under
magnetic field. While related to the magnetic torque , takes the role of torque susceptibility, and thus provides
distinct insights into anisotropic materials akin to the difference between
magnetization and magnetic susceptibility. The thermodynamic coefficient is
discontinuous at second-order phase transitions and subject to Ehrenfest
relations with the specific heat and magnetic susceptibility. We apply this
simple yet quantitative method on the exemplary cases of the Weyl-semimetal NbP
and the spin-liquid candidate RuCl, yet it is broadly applicable in quantum
materials research.Comment: 7 pages including 6 figures and methods sectio
Spatial control of heavy-fermion superconductivity in CeIrIn5
M.D.B. acknowledges studentship funding from EPSRC under grant EP/I007002/1.Although crystals of strongly correlated metals exhibit a diverse set of electronic ground states, few approaches exist for spatially modulating their properties. In this study, we demonstrate disorder-free control, on the micrometer scale, over the superconducting state in samples of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeIrIn5. We pattern crystals by focused ion beam milling to tailor the boundary conditions for the elastic deformation upon thermal contraction during cooling. The resulting nonuniform strain fields induce complex patterns of superconductivity, owing to the strong dependence of the transition temperature on the strength and direction of strain. These results showcase a generic approach to manipulating electronic order on micrometer length scales in strongly correlated matter without compromising the cleanliness, stoichiometry, or mean free path.PostprintPeer reviewe
- âŠ