bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of music performance anxiety in a virtual auditorium through the study of ambient lighting and audience distance
Authors: Gómez-Sirvent José L. , Fernández-Sotos Alicia , Fernández-Caballero Antonio , Fernández-Sotos Desirée 
Published: March 2024

AbstractPerformance anxiety is a common problem affecting musicians’ concentration and well-being. Musicians frequently encounter greater challenges and emotional discomfort when performing in front of an audience. Recent research suggests an important relationship between the characteristics of the built environment and people’s well-being. In this study, we explore modifying the built environment to create spaces where musicians are less aware of the presence of the audience and can express themselves more comfortably. An experiment was conducted with 61 conservatory musicians playing their instrument in a virtual auditorium in front of an audience of hundreds of virtual humans. They performed at different distances from the audience and under different levels of ambient lighting, while their eye movements were recorded. These data, together with questionnaires, were used to analyse the way the environment is perceived. The results showed that reducing the light intensity above the audience made the view of the auditorium more calming, and the same effect was observed when the distance between the audience and the musician was increased. Eye-tracking data showed a significant reduction in saccadic eye movements as the distance from the audience increased. This work provides a novel approach to architecture influence on musicians’ experience during solo performances. The findings are useful to designers and researchers.
Enhancing weight perception in virtual reality: an analysis of kinematic features
Authors: Moosavi Mahdiyeh Sadat , Raimbaud Pierre , Guillet Christophe , Mérienne Frédéric 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis study investigates weight perception in virtual reality without kinesthetic feedback from the real world, by means of an illusory method called pseudo-haptic. This illusory model focuses on the dissociation of visual input and somatosensory feedback and tries to induce the sensation of virtual objects' loads in VR users by manipulating visual input. For that, modifications on the control-display ratio, i.e., between the real and virtual motions of the arm, can be used to produce a visual illusionary effect on the virtual objects' positions as well. Therefore, VR users perceive it as velocity variations in the objects' displacements, helping them achieve a better sensation of virtual weight. A primary contribution of this paper is the development of a novel, holistic assessment methodology that measures the sense of the presence in virtual reality contexts, particularly when participants are lifting virtual objects and experiencing their weight. Our study examined the effect of virtual object weight on the kinematic parameters and velocity profiles of participants' upward arm motions, along with a parallel experiment conducted using real weights. By comparing the lifting of real objects with that of virtual objects, it was possible to gain insight into the variations in kinematic features observed in participants' arm motions. Additionally, subjective measurements, utilizing the Borg CR10 questionnaire, were conducted to assess participants' perceptions of hand fatigue. The analysis of collected data, encompassing both subjective and objective measurements, concluded that participants experienced similar sensations of fatigue and changes in hand kinematics during both virtual object tasks, resulting from pseudo-haptic feedback, and real weight lifting tasks. This consistency in findings underscores the efficacy of pseudo-haptic feedback in simulating realistic weight sensations in virtual environments.
Exploring the Use of Interleaved Stimuli to Measure Cochlear-Implant Excitation Patterns
Authors: Guérit François , Middlebrooks John C. , Gransier Robin , Richardson Matthew L. , Wouters Jan , Carlyon Robert P. 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Purpose
Attempts to use current-focussing strategies with cochlear implants (CI) to reduce neural spread-of-excitation have met with only mixed success in human studies, in contrast to promising results in animal studies. Although this discrepancy could stem from between-species anatomical and aetiological differences, the masking experiments used in human studies may be insufficiently sensitive to differences in excitation-pattern width.

Methods
We used an interleaved-masking method to measure psychophysical excitation patterns in seven participants with four masker stimulation configurations: monopolar (MP), partial tripolar (pTP), a wider partial tripolar (pTP + 2), and, importantly, a condition (RP + 2) designed to produce a broader excitation pattern than MP. The probe was always in partial-tripolar configuration.

Results
We found a significant effect of stimulation configuration on both the amount of on-site masking (mask and probe on same electrode; an indirect indicator of sharpness) and the difference between off-site and on-site masking. Differences were driven solely by RP + 2 producing a broader excitation pattern than the other configurations, whereas monopolar and the two current-focussing configurations did not statistically differ from each other.

Conclusion
A method that is sensitive enough to reveal a modest broadening in RP + 2 showed no evidence for sharpening with focussed stimulation. We also showed that although voltage recordings from the implant accurately predicted a broadening of the psychophysical excitation patterns with RP + 2, they wrongly predicted a strong sharpening with pTP + 2. We additionally argue, based on our recent research, that the interleaved-masking method can usefully be applied to non-human species and objective measures of CI excitation patterns.
A Fibrin-Thrombin Based In Vitro Perfusion System to Study Flow-Related Prosthetic Heart Valves Thrombosis
Authors: Kreinin Yevgeniy , Talmon Yahel , Levi Moran , Khoury Maria , Or Itay , Raad Mahli , Bolotin Gil , Sznitman Josué , Korin Netanel 
Published: March 2024

AbstractProsthetic heart valve (PHV) replacement has increased the survival rate and quality of life for heart valve-diseased patients. However, PHV thrombosis remains a critical problem associated with these procedures. To better understand the PHV flow-related thrombosis problem, appropriate experimental models need to be developed. In this study, we present an in vitro fibrin clot model that mimics clot accumulation in PHVs under relevant hydrodynamic conditions while allowing real-time imaging. We created 3D-printed mechanical aortic valve models that were inserted into a transparent glass aorta model and connected to a system that simulates human aortic flow pulse and pressures. Thrombin was gradually injected into a circulating fibrinogen solution to induce fibrin clot formation, and clot accumulation was quantified via image analysis. The results of valves positioned in a normal versus a tilted configuration showed that clot accumulation correlated with the local flow features and was mainly present in areas of low shear and high residence time, where recirculating flows are dominant, as supported by computational fluid dynamic simulations. Overall, our work suggests that the developed method may provide data on flow-related clot accumulation in PHVs and may contribute to exploring new approaches and valve designs to reduce valve thrombosis.
Generalizing actions with the subtraction-compensation property: primary students’ algebraic thinking with tasks involving vertical towers of blocks
Authors: Wilkie Karina J. , Hopkins Sarah 
Published: March 2024

AbstractAn important approach for developing children’s algebraic thinking involves introducing them to generalized arithmetic at the time they are learning arithmetic. Our aim in this study was to investigate children’s attention to and expression of generality with the subtraction-compensation property, as evidence of a type of algebraic thinking known as relational thinking. The tasks involved subtraction modelled as difference and comparing the heights of towers of blocks. In an exploratory qualitative study, 22 middle primary (9–11-year-old) students from two schools participated in individual videoed interviews. The tasks were designed using theoretical perspectives on embodied visualization and concreteness fading to provide multiple opportunities for the students to make sense of subtraction as difference and to advance their relational thinking. Twelve out of 22 students evidenced conceptual understanding of the comparison model of subtraction (subtraction as difference) and expression of the compensation property of equality. Four of these students repeatedly evidenced relational thinking for true/false tasks and open equivalence tasks. A proposed framework for levels of attention to/expression of generality with the subtraction-compensation property is shared and suggestions for further research are presented.
Reverse-Engineering Risk
Authors: O’Sullivan Angela , Mace Lilith 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThree philosophical accounts of risk dominate the contemporary literature. On the probabilistic account, risk has to do with the probability of a disvaluable event obtaining; on the modal account, it has to do with the modal closeness of that event obtaining; on the normic account, it has to do with the normalcy of that event obtaining. The debate between these accounts has proceeded via counterexample-trading, with each account having some cases it explains better than others, and some cases that it cannot explain at all. In this article, we attempt to break the impasse between the three accounts of risk through a shift in methodology. We investigate the concept of risk via the method of conceptual reverse-engineering, whereby a theorist reconstructs the need that a concept serves for a group of agents in order to illuminate the shape of the concept: its intension and extension. We suggest that risk functions to meet our need to make decisions that reduce disvalue under conditions of uncertainty. Our project makes plausible that risk is a pluralist concept: meeting this need requires that risk takes different forms in different contexts. But our pluralism is principled: each of these different forms are part of one and the same concept, that has a ‘core-to-periphery’ structure, where the form the concept takes in typical cases (at its ‘core’) explains the form it takes in less typical cases (at its ‘periphery’). We then apply our findings to epistemic risk, to resolve an ambiguity in how ‘epistemic risk’ is standardly understood.
Reflective Awareness, Phenomenal Conservatism, and Phenomenal Explanationism
Authors: McCain Kevin , Moretti Luca 
Published: March 2024

AbstractAccording to Phenomenal Conservatism (PC), if a subject S has an appearance that P, in the absence of defeaters, S has justification for believing P by virtue of her appearance’s inherent justifying power. McCain and Moretti (2021) have argued that PC is affected by the problem of reflective awareness: if a subject S becomes reflectively aware of an appearance, the appearance loses its inherent justifying power. This limits the explanatory power of PC and reduces its anti-sceptical bite. This article provides a novel argument to the same conclusion and contends that it does not apply to Phenomenal Explanationism, the appearance-based account of justification alternative to PC defended by McCain and Moretti (2021).
No Trespassing! Abandoning the Novice/Expert Problem
Authors: Levy Neil 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe novice/expert problem is the problem of knowing which apparent expert to trust. Following Alvin Goldman’s lead, a number of philosophers have developed criteria that novices can use to distinguish more from less trustworthy experts. While the criteria the philosophers have identified are indeed useful in guiding expert choice, I argue, they can’t do the work that Goldman and his successors want from them: avoid a kind of testimonial scepticism. We can’t deploy them in the way needed to avoid such scepticism, because it would take genuine expertise to do so. I argue that attempts to deploy them in this sort of deep way involve a kind of transgression akin to, and at least as unreliable as, epistemic trespassing. We should give up trying to solve the novice/expert problem and instead promote better epistemic trust.
The Right to Climate Adaptation
Authors: Byskov Morten Fibieger 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change has over the past decade repeatedly warned that we are heading towards inevitable and irreversible climate change, which will negatively affect the lives, livelihoods, and well-being of millions of people around the world, both at present and in the future. In fact, many people, especially vulnerable and marginalized communities in low- and middle-income countries, already live with the effects of climate change in their daily lives. While adaptation – along with mitigation and compensation for loss and damage as a consequence of climate change – was identified as the central pillars of a just climate policy in the Paris Agreement it is unclear whether this entails a right to adaptation – that some people are owed, as a matter of justice, to have the ability to adapt to climate change – and, if so, what such a right would look like. In this paper, I argue that individuals and communities who are or will be negatively affected by climate change through no fault of their own should have the right to adaptation. I argue that the right to adaptation should be specified through four questions: (i) who has a right to adaptation; (ii) what is it a right to; (iii) how much is it a right to; and (iv) who has the duty to uphold the right to adaptation?
Long-term analysis of a psychoeducational course on university students’ mental well-being
Authors: Hobbs Catherine , Jelbert Sarah , Santos Laurie R. , Hood Bruce 
Published: March 2024

AbstractAlthough many higher educational institute (HEI) psychoeducational courses teaching positive psychology interventions report benefits to mental well-being upon completion, they have not typically addressed whether such beneficial effects are sustained long-term beyond the period of the courses. Here, we report a pre-registered follow-up of 228 undergraduate students, from a variety of disciplines, who took a positive psychology course 1 or 2 years previously. Overall, group analysis revealed that students who had taken the course did not continue to show the originally reported benefits at follow-up. Students who had taken the course scored higher on mental well-being than other students tested using a university-wide survey, but they were also higher at baseline 1–2 years earlier indicating a sampling bias. An exploratory analysis, however, revealed that 115 students (51% of the group) who had continued to practice the recommended activities taught during the course maintained their increased mental well-being over the period of follow-up. We therefore suggest that continued engagement is a key factor in sustaining the long-term benefits of positive psychology courses. Implementation of such courses should therefore include provision and mechanisms for maintaining future student engagement.
Factors driving the bioavailability of particulate organic matter in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) during summer
Authors: Misic Cristina , Bolinesi Francesco , Castellano Michela , Olivari Enrico , Povero Paolo , Fusco Giannetta , Saggiomo Maria , Mangoni Olga 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe biochemical composition and bioavailability of particulate organic matter (POM) were studied in relation to abiotic (water column stratification, macronutrient concentrations) and biotic factors (phytoplankton biomass and functional groups) in the open Ross Sea and coastal area of Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica, during the austral summer 2017. The presence of different sub-systems was highlighted by spatial and temporal variations of all the considered variables, characterised by higher concentrations of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen in Terra Nova Bay, where diatoms dominated, while in the open Ross Sea was higher the contribution of haptophytes (Phaeocystis antarctica Karsten, 1905). The southernmost Ross Sea was characterised by significantly higher concentrations of carbohydrates in the entire water column. High lipid contribution and low photosynthetic activity indicated aged POM, suggesting that POM was composed mainly by the remnants of previous haptophytes production. The higher lability of the carbohydrates indicated that an increase of haptophytes in the area could alter the biogeochemical C cycle, reducing the storage of refractory carbon in the depths, and favouring the transfer and respiration of C in the trophic web, with a decrease of export rate in the Ross Sea.
Visible-light optical limiting of vanadia–polyvinylpyrrolidone nanofibers
Authors: Pepe Yasemin , Tutel Yusuf , Akkoyun Serife , Asci Nurcan , Cevik Eda , Karatay Ahmet , Unalan Husnu Emrah , Elmali Ayhan 
Published: March 2024

AbstractIn this work, vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) nanoparticles-filled electrospun polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) nanofibers were investigated systematically at various nanofiller weight percentages (8 and 10 wt%) and input intensities to reveal the effective optical limiting feature in the visible spectrum. XRD analysis demonstrated the purity of the produced V2O5 nanoparticles. According to SEM findings, V2O5 nanoparticles were effectively integrated into the PVP nanofibers. Two distinct absorption bands were observed at around 400 and 217 nm. These bands were related to PVP and V2O5 nanoparticles in linear absorption measurements, respectively. Moreover, an increased Urbach energy value was obtained with an increase in V2O5 nanofiller content within PVP. Open-aperture Z-scan measurements were taken at 532 nm considering the band gap energy of the V2O5 nanofillers in PVP composite nanofibers. In 8 wt% V2O5 nanofilled PVP nanofibers, one-photon absorption (OPA) was the main nonlinear absorption (NA) mechanism, and the defect states of the V2O5 nanoparticles had no contribution to NA. On the other hand, sequential two-photon absorption was the main NA mechanism, and the defect states of the nanoparticles caused more efficient NA behavior in 10 wt% V2O5 nanofilled PVP nanofibers. The effective optical limiting behavior was obtained for this composite nanofiber with lower limiting threshold as 1.49 × 10–5 J/cm2. The V2O5 nanofilled PVP nanofibers presented strong potential optical limiters in the visible wavelength region. This was attributed to their high linear transmittance at low input intensities and their robust NA behavior at higher input intensities.
Rough Differential Equations Containing Path-Dependent Bounded Variation Terms
Authors: Aida Shigeki 
Published: March 2024

AbstractWe consider rough differential equations whose coefficients contain path-dependent bounded variation terms and prove the existence and a priori estimate of solutions. These equations include classical path-dependent stochastic differential equations containing running maximum processes and normal reflection terms. We apply these results to determine the topological support of the solution processes.
Exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells decrease neuroinflammation and facilitate the restoration of nerve function in rats suffering from intracerebral hemorrhage
Authors: Nan Chengrui , Zhang Yan , Zhang Aobo , Shi Yunpeng , Yan Dongdong , Sun Zhimin , Jin Qianxu , Huo Haoran , Zhuo Yayu , Zhao Zongmao 
Published: March 2024

AbstractExosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSC-ex) have become a hopeful substitute for whole-cell therapy due to their minimal immunogenicity and tumorigenicity. The present study aimed to investigate the hypothesis that hUCMSC-ex can alleviate excessive inflammation resulting from intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and facilitate the rehabilitation of the nervous system in rats. In vivo, hemorrhagic stroke was induced by injecting collagenase IV into the striatum of rats using stereotactic techniques. hUCMSC-ex were injected via the tail vein at 6 h after ICH model establishment at a dosage of 200 µg. In vitro, astrocytes were pretreated with hUCMSC-ex and then stimulated with hemin (20 μmol/mL) to establish an ICH cell model. The expression of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway proteins and inflammatory factors, including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-10, was assessed both in vivo and in vitro to investigate the impact of hUCMSC-ex on inflammation. The neurological function of the ICH rats was evaluated using the corner turn test, forelimb placement test, Longa score, and Bederson score on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th day. Additionally, RT-PCR was employed to examine the mRNA expression of TLR4 following hUCMSC-ex treatment. The findings demonstrated that hUCMSC-ex downregulated the protein expression of TLR4, NF-κB/P65, and p-P65, reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β, and increased the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Ultimately, the administration of hUCMSC-ex improved the behavioral performance of the ICH rats. However, the results of PT-PCR indicated that hUCMSC-ex did not affect the expression of TLR4 mRNA induced by ICH, suggesting that hUCMSCs-ex may inhibit TLR4 translation rather than transcription, thereby suppressing the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. We can conclude that hUCMSC-ex mitigates hyperinflammation following ICH by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. This study provides preclinical evidence for the potential future application of hUCMSC-ex in the treatment of cerebral injury.
Accurate detection of coronavirus cases using deep learning with attention mechanism and genetic algorithm
Authors: Kara Ahmet 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe novel coronavirus disease has caused severe threats to the daily life and health of people all over the world. Hence, early detection and timely treatment of this disease are significant to prevent the coronavirus's spread and ensure more effective patient care. This work adopted an integrated framework comprising deep learning and attention mechanism to provide a more effective and reliable diagnosis. This framework consists of two convolution neural network (CNN), a bidirectional LSTM, two fully-connected layers (FCL), and an attention mechanism. The main aim of the proposed framework is to reveal a promising approach based on deep learning for early and timely detection of coronavirus disease. For greater accuracy, the framework's hyperparameters are tuned by means of a genetic algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed framework has been examined utilizing a public dataset including 18 different blood findings from Albert Einstein Israelita Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Additionally, within the experimental studies, the proposed framework is subjected to comparison with the state-of-the-art techniques, evaluated across various metrics. Based on the derived consequences, the proposed framework has yielded enhancements in accuracy, recall, precision, and F1-score, registering approximate improvements of 1.27%, 4.07%, 3.20%, and 2.88%, respectively, as measured against the second-best rates.